Door County's 250-mile shoreline offers picture-pretty coves, inlets and harbors. Towering limestone bluffs, wetlands and, dune-studded stretches of beach add to the scenic mix. Part of the shoreline -- longest of any county in the United States -- surrounds more than 40 islands scattered offshore (the largest of them, Washington Island, is a 35-minute ferry ride from the mainland).
Ethnic Groups Add to Peninsula’s Local Color
The multiple ethnic groups that settled the peninsula also play a big role in expanding Door County’s experiences. The first known inhabitants were Winnebago and Potowatomi. Then came French missionaries and explorers; fishermen and fur traders. They called the treacherous straights between Washington Island and the mainland Port des Morts -- Door of Death -- which gave the county its unusual name. In the mid-1800s, permanent settlement by immigrants from Europe began. Belgians, who settled in the southern part of the county, built sturdy brick farmhouses and barns with bulls-eye windows. Icelanders put down roots on Washington Island.
Ephraim and Egg Harbor are Loaded with Man-Made Charm
Norwegian Moravians settled at a place they called Ephraim on the peninsula’s sheltered west shore. Other Scandinavians built homes and businesses a few miles north, naming their community Sister Bay. Within a few years’ time, immigrant-settled towns with Victorian-era houses. Churches and business places were established around just about every natural harbor along the peninsula’s northwest coast from Egg Harbor to Gills Rock. Today, that’s the part of the county that has the most man-made charm, with historic sites and points of interest like Anderson’s Store and Dock in Ephraim. The northwest coast is also the location of most of the county’s lodging places, which run the architectural gamut from contemporary condos and cozy log cabins to Victorian bed and breakfasts.
Sturgeon Bay is Peninsula’s Largest City
Sturgeon Bay is the county seat and largest city on the peninsula. During World War II, it was a boom town where workers at its three shipbuilding companies produced navy patrol boats, cargo ships and tugs. After the war, the emphasis shifted to building fishing trawlers, ferries and Mississippi River cargo haulers. Today, the town is only about a third of its former size, and the two remaining shipbuilding companies produce racing boats and yachts.
Tourist information about the rest of the area is available at the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center.. Lighthouses, parks, museums, ethnic restaurants and shopping; festivals and cultural events all reflect the peninsula’s variety, making it a far more interesting destination than most counties in the 50 states. Residents say that to get the most from a Door County vacation, it’s best to explore leisurely without rushing from one attraction to the next. It’s not important to see everything in one visit, they say, because that way visitors can have as much enjoyment on their second and third visits as they did on the first.
Connie Emerson - Ever since I can remember, going places and seeing new sights has intrigued me. A robin drinking from a puddle after a springtime Paris ...
