The Francisco Morazan ran aground near South Manitou Island on November 28,1960. It had left Chicago the day before, loaded with 940 tons of general cargo. The ship’s captain was 24 years old. His wife, 29 and pregnant, was aboard the ship, as were 13 crew members. The captain’s wife was lifted from the ship on Dec. 2. The crew abandoned ship on Dec. 4 and were taken to Traverse City aboard the icebreaker Mackinaw. The ship’s owners could not be located and the rusted remains of the ship still rest where it ran aground a few hundred feet from the island’s shore.
Francisco Morazán served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. The nation, which ceased to exist in 1841, covered land today occupied by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The nearby beach, where this photograph was taken, is a beautiful spot for swimming and a picnic. The island is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
All images on this website are copyright Daniel C. Nielsen, tclocal@gmail.com.
True Traverse City 
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