Washington Island (Wisconsin)
Washington Island is located about 7 miles northeast of the tip of Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin. The island has a year-round population of 660 people (2000 census). It has a land area of 60.89 km² (23.51 sq mi) and comprises over 92 percent of the land area of the town of Washington, as well as all of its population. The unincorporated community of Detroit Harbor is located on the island. It is the largest in a group of islands that includes Plum, Detroit, Hog, Pilot, and Rock Islands. These islands form the Town of Washington. A large part of Washington Island's economy is based on tourism.
Washington Island is approximately 5 miles wide by 6 miles long. Together with the Door Peninsula, Washington Island forms a treacherous strait that connects Green Bay to the rest of Lake Michigan. Early French explorers named this water way, now littered with shipwrecks, Porte des Morts, which means "Death's Door" and gives Door County and Door Peninsula their names.
Read more about Washington Island (Wisconsin): History, Climate, Transportation, See Also
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)