Michigan Roadside Attractions: Titanic Memorial, Marine City
Michigan Roadside Attractions is a periodic feature on Travel the Mitten that will explore the many interesting things that can be found on the highways, byways and back roads of Michigan, ranging from the interesting to unusual.
The tragedy of the RMS Titanic has fascinated people around the world for many years, and a new memorial in Marine City pays tribute to the ship’s connection to Michigan. In May of 2018 a Titanic Memorial was unveiled in one the city’s parks, honoring the 69 Michigan-bound passengers who perished when the ship sank in 1912. The park, which borders the St. Clair River, is a popular place for freighter viewing.
The memorial plaque is shaped like a ship’s wheel and lists each of the Michigan-bound passengers’ names and also lists where passengers were headed to in Michigan – as you will see below many were headed for the Detroit area, but a handful were headed to the Upper Peninsula (where the copper mining boom was still in full swing) or southwest Michigan. The names also show that people were headed here from all over Europe, and that the tragedy claimed the lives of many family groups that were traveling together. An image of the Titanic is featured above the names, with the phrase “Nearer My God to Thee” above the ship. Ben Cassell of Fine Arts Sculpture Center in Clarkston cast the ship’s wheel. More than $6,500 was raised locally to help put this memorial in place, led by Margaret Micoff (founder of the Great Lakes Titanic Connection).
In memory of the 69 Michigan bound passengers aboard the RMS Titanic April 15, 1912:
Richard F. Becker, Benton Harbor
Marion L. Becker, Benton Harbor
Ruth E. Becker, Benton Harbor
Nellie E. Becker, Benton Harbor
William J. Berriman, Calumet
John Linnane, Chelsea
Markhkhul Butrus-Youssef, Detroit
Marianna Butrus-Youssef, Detroit
Katarin Butrus-Youssef, Detroit
Reginald C. Coleridge, Detroit
Theodoor De Mulder, Detroit
George F. Eitemuller, Detroit
Frank J. W. Goldsmith, Detroit
Frank J. Goldsmith, Detroit
Emily A. Goldsmith, Detroit
Viljo Hamalainen/Hamlin, Detroit
Anna Hamalainen/Hamlin, Detroit
Leon J. Hampe, Detroit
Martta Hiltunen, Detroit
Rene G. A. Lievens, Detroit
Phyllis M. Quick, Detroit
Winnifred V. Quick, Detroit
Jane Richards-Quick, Detroit
Alfred G. J. Rush, Detroit
Julius Sap, Detroit
Jean B. Scheerlink, Detroit
Thomas L. Theobald, Detroit
Catharina Van Impe, Detroit
Jean-Baptiste Van Impe, Detroit
Rosalie P. Govarert-Van Impe, Detroit
Philemon E. Van Melkebeke, Detroit
Victor Vandercruyssen, Detroit
Camilius A. Wittenvrongel, Detroit
Dickinson H. Bishop, Dowagiac
Helen Walton-Bishop, Dowagiac
Gerios Y. Touma, Dowagiac
Marianna Y. Touma, Dowagiac
Hanna Y. Razi-Touma, Dowagiac
Alfons De Pelsmaeker, Gladstone
Frederick C. Sawyer, Halley
Maude Sincock, Hancock
Frank T. Andrew, Houghton
Frederick J. Banfield, Hancock
William Carbines, Houghton
John M. Davies Jr., Houghton
Elizabeth A. M. White-Davies, Houghton
Joseph C. Fillbrook, Houghton
Stephen C. Jenkin, Houghton
Joseph C. Nicholls, Houghton
Robert D. Norman, Houghton
Samuel J. H. Sobey, Houghton
Jenny L. Henrikssen, Iron Mountain
Ellen N. Pettersson, Iron Mountain
Harold Skoog, Iron Mountain
Karl T. Skoog, Iron Mountain
Mabel Skoog, Iron Mountain
Margit E. Skoog, Iron Mountain
Wilhelm J. Skoog, Iron Mountain
Anna B. Karlsson-Skoog, Iron Mountain
Ida A.M. Andersson, Manistee
Alfred J. Davies, Pontiac
Evan Davies, Pontiac
John S. Davies, Pontiac
Joseph Davies, Pontiac
James Lester, Pontiac
Bert John, Port Huron
Ernst A. Sjostet, Sault Ste. Marie
Jovo Calic, Sault Ste. Marie
Petar Calic, Sault Ste. Marie
The Marine City Titanic Memorial is located in a small section of park that is next to Drake Park. Parking is available on street or in the large lot across from Holy Cross Parish to the south. Other things to check out in Marine City include the Peche Island Rear Range Light, Holy Cross Parish – where Bishop Frederic Baraga once served, and historic Marine City City Hall.
