Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rustic, time-locked Washington Island, an easy (and safe) ferry ride from the mainland
across Death's Door, very nearly wasn't included as part of Door County, but in 1925, the
SupremeCourtruledinWisconsin'sfavorinaborderdisputewithMichigan.Atissuewere
a number of the dozen or so islands in the Grand Traverse Chain, of which Washington and
the surrounding islands are a part.
The island isn't what most expect. Many envision a candy-facade Mackinac Island, full
of historically garbed docents or fudge sellers every two steps. Not at all. It's populated
by 650 permanent residents, and development is absolutely unobtrusive. The place has a
pleasant weather-beaten seaside look to it, rather than the sheen of a slick resort. Best of
all,WashingtonIslandhasthefeelofasmallMidwesterntown,rightdowntothewell-used
community ballparks. This explains the island's perfectly apt PR tout line: “North of the
Tension Line.”
History
NATURAL HISTORY
Beyond Washington Island is one of the Niagara Escarpment's longest gaps as it stretches
under the waters to Michigan and on to Ontario. Of the islands stretching across the lake to
Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Washington is the granddaddy, geologically and historically.
With 36 square miles, the island's circumference is just over 25 miles. The escarpment is
on a consistent, gradual declivity (2-5 degrees), a mere 160 feet above the lake's surface,
surrounding Washington Island's rough, wave-battered exterior. Nowhere on the Door Pen-
insula does nature manifest itself with more force—wind-whipped stretches of open mead-
ow or scattered hardwoods equally wind-bent—than on this tough island.
HUMAN HISTORY
TheDoorfitsWashingtonIsland,trulythedoortoWisconsin.WashingtonandRockIslands
were populated long before the rest of northeastern Wisconsin. Before vandals and thickets
of ambitious brush got ahold of the sites, the island was one of the richest Native American
archaeological time capsules in the Midwest. The original island dwellers were likely the
Potawatomi and later the Huron (the island's original name was Huron Island), among oth-
ers, who arrived in flight from the bellicose Iroquois in modern Quebec.
Island-hoppingvoyageursplyingtheexpansesofNewFrancefoundaready-madechain
of havens and temporary fishing grounds stretching from Michigan to the Door Peninsula,
