Door County, Wisconsin

Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066.<ref name="2020CensusInteractive">Template:Cite web</ref> Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. This dangerous passage, known as Death's Door, contains shipwrecks and was known to Native Americans and early French explorers. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1861.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nicknamed the "Cape Cod of the Midwest," Door County is a popular Upper Midwest vacation destination. Tourism is a major contributor to Door County's economy. It is Wisconsin's forty-fourth largest county in population, but it is the eighth largest in terms of economic impact from tourism (over $600 million in 2023).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county is considered a high-recreation retirement destination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Native Americans and French

Porte des Morts legend

Door County's name came from Porte des Morts ("Death's Door"), the passage between the tip of Door Peninsula and Washington Island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name "Death's Door" came from Native American tales, heard by early French explorers and published in greatly embellished form by Hjalmar Holand, which described a failed raid by the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) tribe to capture Washington Island from the rival Potawatomi tribe in the early 1600s. It has become associated with shipwrecks within the passage.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The earliest known written reference to the legend is from Template:Ill, who termed the peninsula "Cap a la Mort" in 1728.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Settlement and development

19th–20th century settlement

File:The Pioneer Cemetery at Peninsula State Park..jpg

Graves of Increase Claflin and family

The 19th and 20th centuries saw the immigration and settlement of pioneers, mariners, fishermen, loggers, and farmers. The first white settler was Increase Claflin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1851, Door County was separated from what had been Brown County.<ref name="2030 plan"/> In 1853, Moravians founded Ephraim after Nils Otto Tank resisted attempts at land ownership reform at the old religious colony near Green Bay.<ref name="AutoX4-5"/> An African-American community and congregation worshiping at West Harbor on Washington Island was described in 1854.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also in 1854 the first post office in the county opened, on Washington Island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the 19th century, a fairly large-scale immigration of Belgian Walloons populated a small region in the southern portion of the county,<ref name="Soucek 2011">Template:Cite book</ref> including the area designated as the Namur Historic District. They built small roadside votive chapels, some still in use today,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Cite web Template:Google maps</ref> and brought other traditions over from Europe such as the Kermiss harvest festival.<ref>Template:Cite book See also the Table of Contents for the entire book.</ref>

Shortly after the 1831 Treaty of Washington,<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> the federal government surveyed what is now Door County to determine the value of the timber and to divide up parcels for eventual sale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the treaty, land in what is now the county was sold or granted to private citizens.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the time the Homestead Act of 1862 was passed, most of the county's nearly 2,000 farmers were squatters earning most of their revenue from lumber and wood products. The remaining portion of the population consisted of about 1,000 fishermen and their families. Out of the total population of 2,948 people, 170 fought in the Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

When the 1871 Peshtigo fire burned the town of Williamsonville, fifty-nine people were killed. The area of this disaster is now Tornado Memorial County Park, named for a fire whirl which occurred there.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web kiosk historical notes, also see Template:Cite web</ref> Altogether, 128 people in the county perished in the Peshtigo fire.<ref name="2030 plan">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="AutoX4-5">Template:Cite book and Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1885 or 1886, what is now the Coast Guard Station was established at Sturgeon Bay.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The small, seasonally open station on Washington Island was established in 1902.<ref name=WashingtonIsland>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Excursion party on Sailor Boy.jpg

Excursion party on the Sailor Boy; postmarked 1906 in Sturgeon Bay. The Sailor Boy and other small steamboats stopped at Menominee to take on rail passengers. Since rail service was faster, tourists from Chicago would first take a northbound train in order to board steamboats bound for resort communities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Cedar Glen, one of themany free tourists' camp sites in Peninsula State Park, Door County,... (NBY 562).jpg

This 1924 postcard produced by Curt Teich & Company reads, "Cedar Glen, one of the many free tourists' camp sites in Peninsula State Park, Door County Wisconsin."

Early tourism

Even after the Ahnapee and Western extended service to Sturgeon Bay in 1894, many tourists continued taking the railroad to Menominee, MichiganTemplate:Efn to embark on steamships bound for communities in Door County. This route over Green Bay bypassed poor road conditions in the northern part of the county, which persisted until the early 1920s. Only after crushed stone highways were built did motor and horse-drawn coaches become popular for transportation between Sturgeon Bay and the northern part of the peninsula.<ref>Template:Harvp.</ref><ref name="2030 plan"/> By 1909 at least 1,000 tourists visited per year,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a figure which grew to about 125,000 in 1920,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 1 million in 1969,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 1.25 million in 1978,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and 1.9 million in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

20th–21st-century events

In 1913, The Old Rugged Cross was first sung at the Friends Church in Sturgeon Bay as a duet by two traveling preachers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2004, the county began a sister cities relationship with Jingdezhen in southeastern China.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

Template:See also According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (80%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> It is the largest county in Wisconsin by total area. The county has Template:Convert of shoreline.<ref name="STARR">Template:Cite book</ref>

The county covers the majority of the Door Peninsula. With the completion of the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal in 1881,<ref name="Wardius Wardius 2013">Template:Cite book</ref> the northern half of the peninsula became an artificial island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This canal is believed to have somehow "caused a wonderful increase in the quantity of fish" in nearby waters<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and also caused a reduction in the sturgeon population in the bay due to changes in the aquatic habitat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The 45th parallel north bisects the "island", and this is commemorated by Meridian County Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

Template:Main The county has a humid continental climate (classified as Dfb in Köppen) with warm summers and cold snowy winters. Data from the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station north of the city of Sturgeon Bay gives average monthly temperatures ranging from Template:Convert in the summer down to Template:Convert in the winter. The moderating effects of nearby bodies of water reduce the likelihood of damaging late spring freezes. Late spring freezes are less likely to occur than in nearby areas, and when they do occur, they tend not to be as severe.<ref>Template:Cite book Also see maps on pp. 15 and 29.</ref>

Attractions

File:Winter Road - Shivering Sands, Door Peninsula (32151198956).jpg

Road in Shivering Sands wetland complex, January 1

Today, most tourists and summer residents come from the metropolitan areas of Milwaukee, Chicago, Madison, Green Bay, and the Twin Cities,<ref name="NYTimes20080911">Template:Cite news</ref> although Illinois residents are the dominant group both in Door County and farther south along the eastern edge of Wisconsin.<ref name="ScheweField2012">Template:Cite book</ref>

Recreational lands

File:Potawatomi Tower View.jpg

View in August from the Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower.

Lands open to public use

Door County is home to six state parks:<ref>Federal lawmakers have spent billions in the wake of the pandemic to get Americans high-speed internet. And they want to spend much more. by Sarah Ewall-Wice, CBS News May 21, 2021</ref><ref>Article posted Thursday, March 6, 2014 10:36am by Jim Lundstrom, Peninsula Pulse, March 6, 2014</ref> Newport State Park, Peninsula State Park, Potawatomi State Park, Whitefish Dunes State Park, Rock Island State Park, and Grand Traverse Island State Park. There are four State Wildlife and Fishery AreasTemplate:Efn and also State Natural Areas that allow free public access.<ref name="SNA">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn Additionally, Plum Island and Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge are seasonally open for public recreation.<ref>Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Hunt, Fish & Public Use Regulations 2021-2022, USFWS (Archived February 23, 2022)</ref>

Waters

Lakes and ponds

Besides Lake Michigan and Green Bay, there are 26 lakes, ponds, or marshes and 37 rivers, creeks, streams, and springs in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web; for the 26th lake, see Flora and Vegetation of the Grand Traverse Islands (Lake Michigan), Wisconsin and Michigan by Emmet J. Judziewicz, The Michigan Botanist, Volume 40, Number 4, October 2001, page 127</ref> The two deepest lakes, Mackaysee Lake at Template:Convert and Krause Lake at Template:Convert are on Chambers Island.<ref name=Lukes1986before>Before They're Gone by Roy Lukes, Wisconsin Natural Resources, May–June 1986, Volume 10, Number 3, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, page 8</ref>

Living plant collections

Living plant collections include the orchid project at The Ridges Sanctuary<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in Baileys Harbor and the U.S. Potato Genebank and a public garden in Sevastopol.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>The Garden Door Fact Sheet by the Door County Master Gardeners Association, Accessed December 18, 2019</ref>

Animals

Unique vertebrates

Tamias striatus doorsiensis, a subspecies of eastern chipmunk, is only found in Door, Kewaunee, Northeastern Brown, and possibly Manitowoc counties.<ref name=Lukes73>Tales of the wild: a year with nature by Roy Lukes (entry on worldcat.org), Egg Harbor, Wisconsin: Nature-Wise, 2000, p. 73</ref> In 1999, the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory listed 24 aquatic and 21 terrestrial animals in Door County as "rare."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Birds

Template:As of, 166 species of birds have been confirmed to live in Door County, excluding birds seen which lack the habitat to nest and must only be passing through.<ref>Template:Cite web and Template:Cite web</ref>

Other invertebrates

Kangaroo Lake State Natural Area has the largest breeding population of the endangered Hine's Emerald Dragonfly in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Lake Huron locust lives on dunes in the county and is not found anywhere else in the state.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Culture

Lighthouses and historical sites

Including both Lake Michigan and Green Bay shorelines, there are 50 total lights and lighthouses, besides lighted buoys.<ref>Light List, Volume VII: Great Lakes Template:Webarchive, United States Coast Guard, 33 of the lights are listed from pages 187–191 (pages 243–247 of the pdf); 17 of them are listed from pages 195–198 (pages 251–254 of the pdf), 2022</ref> Out of these, there are 10 historically significant lighthouse structures and sets of lights still serving as navigational lights. Most of them were built during the 19th century and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places: Baileys Harbor Range Lights, Cana Island Lighthouse,<ref>Keeper Of The Light: A Modern Lighthouse Keeper by Patty Murray, September 25, 2017 Wisconsin Originals, PBS</ref> Chambers Island Lighthouse, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Pilot Island Lighthouse, Plum Island Range Lights,<ref>Women Learn Life Skills While Preserving Maritime Landmarks by Joel Waldinger, October 15, 2015, Wisconsin Life, PBS</ref> Pottawatomie Lighthouse, and Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse. Other functioning historic lighthouses in the county include the Sherwood Point Lighthouse and the Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light.<ref name=lights>More Door County Lighthouses Template:Webarchive. Door County Maritime Museum and Wisconsin Coastal Lighthouses Tour electronic map, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program</ref> The Boyer Bluff Light is mounted on an 80-foot skeletal tower.<ref name=Boyer>Boyer Bluff (Wisconsin), United States Lighthouse Society</ref> In addition, the Baileys Harbor Light is a non-functioning 19th century lighthouse.<ref name=lights/>

Thirteen historical sites are marked in the state maritime trail for the area<ref>Maritime Trail video, July 15, 2011, Explore the Door, Door County Visitor Bureau and also see the Maritime trail markers for Door County listed by the Maritime Preservation Program of the Wisconsin Historical Society</ref> in addition to nine roadside historical markers.<ref>Official List of Wisconsin's State Historic Markers by the Wisconsin Historical Society, June 2019, and Wisconsin Historical Marker, electronic map, Wisconsin Historical Society</ref> In Sturgeon Bay, the tugboat John Purves is operated as a museum ship. Including lighthouses, the county has 72 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 214 known confirmed and unconfirmed shipwrecks listed for the county,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including the SS Australasia, Christina Nilsson, Fleetwing, SS Frank O'Connor, Grape Shot, Green Bay, Hanover, Iris, SS Joys, SS Lakeland, Meridian, Ocean Wave, and Success. The SS Louisiana sank during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913.<ref>Photos: The Deadly Great Lakes 'Hurricane' of 1913 by Stephanie Lecci & Mitch Teich, November 7, 2013, WUWM 89.7 Milwaukee's NPR</ref> Some shipwrecks are used for wreck diving.<ref>Guide to Door County Shore Dives by Chuck Larsen and Wisconsin's Door County Full of Treasures for Scuba Divers by Brian E. Clark, July 7, 2012, updated November 9, 2015, Twin Cities Pioneer Press</ref>

Scandinavian heritage

File:Washington Island Stavkirke chancel.jpg

Chancel and altarpiece inside the stave church on Washington Island

Scandinavian heritage-related attractions include The Clearing Folk School, two stave churches,<ref>The Björklunden stave church is called Boynton Chapel and it is just south of Baileys Harbor. The Washington Island Stavkirke is part of and adjacent to Trinity Lutheran Church on Washington Island.</ref> structures in Rock Island State Park furnished with rune-inscribed furniture,<ref>Whisked Away to Rock Island by Benson Gardner, Portal Wisconsin, 2010; the page links to a panoramic tour of the boathouse</ref> and Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant, which features goats on its grassy roof. In Ephraim, the Village Hall, the Moravian and Lutheran churches, and the Peter Peterson House are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as is the L. A. Larson & Co. Store building in Sturgeon Bay. Although fish boils have been attributed to Scandinavian tradition,<ref>In The Upper Midwest, Summertime Means Fish Boils by Amanda Vinicky, The Salt, section on npr.org, August 18, 2015; also see Joy Marquardt. "Fish boils serve up food, fun". Wausau Daily Herald, August 31, 2016.</ref> several ethnicities present on the peninsula have traditions of boiling fish. The method common in the county is similar to that of Native Americans.<ref>Sagamité and Booya: French Influence in Defining Great Lakes Culinary Heritage by Janet C. Gilmore in Material History Review 60 (Fall 2004) and "Pretty Hungry For Fish": Fish Foodways Among Commercial Fishing People of the Western Shore of Lake Michigan's Green Bay by Janet C. Gilmore, in Midwestern folklore. v.28–29 2002–2003, p. 46 (page 158 of the pdf)</ref>Template:Efn

Industry

In Sturgeon Bay, industrial tourism includes tours of the Bay Shipbuilding Company,<ref>Wisconsin Life # 701: Headfirst, October 3, 2019, hosted by Angela Fitzgerald, PBS</ref> CenterPointe Yacht Services<ref>Duct Tape Guys Tour Palmer Johnson Yacht Company, Ultimate Originals television show pilot</ref><ref>Public offered rare opportunity to tour Sturgeon Bay shipyards, Staff Report, April 25, 2019, Door County Advocate</ref> and other manufacturers.<ref>Industrial Park Opens for Manufacturing Days by Jim Lundstrom, Peninsula Pulse, October 13, 2017</ref>

Economy

Template:Main Door County's economy is considered a "forestry-related tourism"-based economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the county was $1.39 billion, with the $274 million manufacturing industry overtaking real estate and rental and leasing that year to become the leading industry in the county at 19.7% of the overall GDP.<ref name=GDPrealdollars20012020>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

Land

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), in 2021 Door County had Template:Convert of roadways.<ref name="dotdoormap">Template:Cite map</ref>

The combined WIS 42/WIS 57 separates again at a junction in Sevastapol. Following this separation, WIS 42 continues along the western side of the peninsula and sees more traffic than WIS 57,<ref name="Anatomy2018">Template:Cite book</ref> which continues along the eastern side. The two highways combine again at a junction in Liberty Grove.

• File:WIS 42.svg Wisconsin Highway 42 (WIS 42)
• File:WIS 57.svg Wisconsin Highway 57 (WIS 57)
• Door County Coastal Byway (WIS 42 and WIS 57) north of Sturgeon Bay to Northport is classified as a Wisconsin Scenic Byway<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> and National Scenic Byway.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

There are five rustic roads in the county.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In addition to state-recognized rustic roads, Liberty Grove manages a heritage roads program. Template:As of there were 12 heritage roads in the town.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are Template:Convert<ref name=2020AnnualReport/> of snowmobile trails,<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> which are opened as trails are groomed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Non-motorized

• The Ahnapee State Trail connects Sturgeon Bay to Kewaunee, winter snowmobile access is dependent on weather and trail grooming.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although the Ice Age Trail coincides with most of the Ahnapee State Trail, the Ice Age Trail forks away in the City of Sturgeon Bay and reaches its northern terminus at Potawatomi State Park.<ref>Template:Cite map and Door County (South) Wisconsin Bicycle Map by the Wisconsin Bike Fed and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 2020</ref> Mountain bike trails are located in three of the state parks.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref>
• WIS 42 and WIS 57 are part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Egg Harbor operates a free public bicycle-sharing system, limited to daylight hours within the village during the tourist season.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Bridges across Sturgeon Bay

• Sturgeon Bay Bridge (also called Michigan Street Bridge), truss structure, Scherzer-type, double-leaf, rolling-lift bascule with overhead counter-weights<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Oregon Street Bridge (reinforced concrete slab, rolling lift bascule girder with mechanical driven center locks)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Bayview Bridge (monolithic concrete placed on structural deck with steel girder superstructure, open grating on deck, bascule)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ground transportation

A daily private shuttle service operates between Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport and Sturgeon Bay.<ref name=table7.6>Template:Cite book</ref> The nearest intercity bus stop with regular service is in Green Bay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are multiple private and public ground transportation services within the county, but none with regularly scheduled stops for the general public.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Air

There are eleven airports in the county, including private or semi-public airports.

• Door County Cherryland Airport (KSUE), medium general aviation,<ref name=boa>Template:Cite book</ref> public use
• Ephraim–Gibraltar Airport (3D2), small general aviation,<ref name=boa/> public use
• Washington Island Airport (2P2), small general aviation,<ref name=boa/> public use
• Crispy Cedars Airport, Brussels (7WI8), private<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Door County Memorial Hospital Heliport, allows for air ambulance service to the hospital from remote areas of the county<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and for flying patients to Green Bay.
• Chambers Island Airport, private<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Five other small airportsTemplate:Efn

File:RobertNoble.jpg

Ferry Robert NobleTemplate:Efn serving Washington Island and Northport

Water

Ferries

• Washington Island is served by two ferry routes operating between the Door Peninsula and Detroit Harbor. One route is a 30-minute ride on a freight, automobile, and passenger ferry that departs from the Northport Pier at the northern terminus of WIS 42. This ferry makes approximately 225,000 trips per year.<ref name=table7.6/> Another route is a 20- minute ride on a passenger-only ferry which departs from the unincorporated community of Gills Rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rock Island State Park is reachable by the passenger ferry Karfi from Washington Island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During winter Rock Island is potentially accessible via snowmobile and foot traffic.
• Although Chambers Island has no regularly scheduled ferry, there are boat operators which transport people to the island on call from Fish Creek.

Boat ramps and marinas

• There are 30 public boat access sites in the county.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref> The Lake Michigan State Water Trail follows most county shorelines.<ref>Template:Cite book Also see Map 3, Map 4, Map 5, and the electronic Lake Michigan State Water Trail map</ref>

Population and its health

Population structures, 1930–2010

Template:Photomontage

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55029">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 30,066. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 23,738 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 92.3% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 Census

As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 27,961 people, 11,828 households, and 7,995 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert.<ref>Wisconsin: 2000 Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, November 2002, US Census Bureau, page 449 (page 462 of the pdf) (Archieved January 19, 2022)</ref> There were 19,587 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.84% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 39.4% were of German and 10.3% Belgian ancestry. A small pocket of Walloon speakers forms the only Walloon-language region outside of Wallonia and its immediate neighbors.<ref>A Forgotten Language Sparks A Love To Remember by Zac Schultz, December 24, 2015, Wisconsin Life, PBS.</ref><ref>"Belgian-American Research Collection" Template:Webarchive, University of Wisconsin and Quantity-to-Quality Contrast Shift and Phonemic Merger in Wisconsin Walloon High Front Vowels by Kelly Biers and Ellen Osterhaus, Selected Proceedings of the 9th Workshop on Immigrant Languages in the Americas (WILA 9), ed. Kelly Biers and Joshua R. Brown, 11-19. Somerville, Massachusetts: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.</ref>

Out of a total of 11,828 households, 58.10% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.84.<ref>Wisconsin: 2000 Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, November 2002, US Census Bureau, page 267 (page 280 of the pdf) (Archived January 19, 2022)</ref>

For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males. 22.10% of the population was under the age of 18,<ref name=2000censusstructure>Wisconsin: 2000 Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, November 2002, US Census Bureau, pages 10–11 (pages 23–24 of the pdf)</ref> a decrease from 25.9% being under the age of 18 in the 1990 census.<ref>Table 1. Summary of General Characteristics of Persons: 1990, p. 20 of the pdf</ref>) Additionally, 6.10% were aged from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, and 27.70% from 45 to 64.<ref name=2000censusstructure/>

File:Stella Maris Catholic Parish.jpg

The Jacksonport site of Stella Maris Catholic Parish, a six-point parish in the northern part of the county<ref>Stella Maris Parish website, About Us: Locations, accessed December 14, 2019</ref>

Crime

In 2020, there were 208 felony cases prosecuted by the county,<ref name=2020AnnualReport>Template:Cite book</ref> up from 195 cases in 2019 and 171 in 2018. No trials were held concerning any of the felony cases in 2020.<ref name=2020AnnualReport/> In 2019, 3 cases went to trial, down from 6 in 2018.<ref name=2019AnnualReport>Template:Cite book</ref>

The county has been a focus of sex-trafficking enforcement efforts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 2015 to 2020 there were no reports of sex-trafficking in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2014, the voluntary intoxication defense in Wisconsin was repealed due to outcry following its use during a trial in Door County. Initially the trial ended with a hung jury but a retrial resulted in a conviction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Communities

File:Travel Map of Door County Wisconsin.jpg

Towns in 1915; the borders remain the same today except for annexations by the City of Sturgeon Bay and the four villages.

Incorporated communities

City

• Sturgeon Bay (county seat)

Villages

• Egg Harbor
• Ephraim
• Forestville
• Sister Bay

Towns

• Baileys Harbor (Cana Island is in the Town of Baileys Harbor)
• Brussels
• Clay Banks
• Egg Harbor
• Forestville
• Gardner
• Gibraltar (the Strawberry Islands, Hat, Horseshoe, and Chambers Island are in the Town of Gibraltar)
• Jacksonport
• Liberty Grove (Gravel Island, Spider Island, and the Sister Islands are in the Town of Liberty Grove)
• Nasewaupee
• Sevastopol
• Sturgeon Bay
• Union
• Washington Island

Unincorporated communities

• Brussels
• Carlsville
• Carnot
• Detroit Harbor
• Fish Creek
• Gills Rock
• Idlewild
• Institute
• Jacksonport
• Juddville
• Kolberg
• Maplewood
• Namur
• North Bay
• Northport
• Peninsula Center
• Rosiere (partially in Kewaunee County)
• Rowleys Bay
• Salona
• Shoemaker Point
• Valmy
• Vignes
• Washington
• West Jacksonport
• Whitefish Bay

• Baileys Harbor
• Ellison Bay
• Little Sturgeon

Former communities

Absorbed into Sturgeon Bay

• Sawyer
• Stevens Hill

Sites used as parks

• Rock Island (settlement on island), now Rock Island State Park
• Newport (community), now Newport State Park<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Williamsonville, now Tornado Memorial County Park<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Adjacent counties

By land

• Kewaunee County - south

In Green Bay

• Brown County - southwest<ref>Maps of borders along county waters are available on the Selection Map at data.census.gov</ref>
• Oconto County - west
• Marinette County - northwest
• Menominee County, Michigan - northwest

Along the Rock Island Passage

• Delta County, Michigan - north; Eastern Time Zone

In Lake Michigan

• Leelanau County, Michigan - northeast and east; Eastern Time Zone
• Benzie County, Michigan - southeast; Eastern Time Zone

Notable people

• Robert C. Bassett (1911–2000), U.S. presidential advisor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jule Berndt (1924–1997), pastor
• Norbert Blei (1935–2013), writer
• Gene Brabender (1941–1996), baseball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jessie Kalmbach Chase (1879–1970), painter
• Hans Christian (born 1960), musician
• Eddie Cochems (1877–1953), "father of the forward pass"
• Erik Cordier (born 1986), baseball player
• Katherine Whitney Curtis (1897–1980), originator of synchronized swimming
• A. J. Dillon (born 1998), Green Bay Packers running back, has the key to the county
• Mary Maples Dunn (1931–2017), historian
• Phoebe Erickson (1907–2006), children's book author and illustrator
• John Fetzer (1840–1900), mill owner, Wisconsin State Senator
• Jim Flanigan (born 1971), football player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Lou Goss (born 1987), racecar driver
• Chris Greisen (born 1976), Milwaukee Iron quarterback (AFL)
• Nick Greisen (born 1979), Denver Broncos linebacker (NFL)
• Stuart Hagmann (born 1942), film and television director
• Bernard Hahn (1860–1931), Wisconsin State Representative, hotel and opera house owner, arsonist
• Arthur G. Hansen (1925–2010), engineer, university president and chancellor
• Hjalmar Holand (1872–1963), historian
• Jens Jensen (1860–1951), landscape architect
• M. J. Jischke (born 1885), butcher, postmaster
• Al Johnson (born 1979), football player
• Ben Johnson (born 1980), football player
• Bill Jorgenson (1930 – 2007), bluegrass musician
• Al C. Kalmbach (1910–1981), publisher
• Henry Killilea (1863–1929), helped found American League<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Curly Lambeau (1898–1965), football player and coach<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• James Larsin (b. 1855), saved seven people from drowning
• Doug Larson (1926–2017), newspaper writer
• Lester Leitl (1899–1980), football player and coach
• Pat MacDonald (born 1952), once part of Timbuk 3, runs Steel Bridge Songfest
• Amy McKenzie (born 1959), producer/director
• Alex Meunier (1897–1983), teacher, orchardist, Wisconsin State Senator
• Thomas J. Minar (born 1963), sex offender<ref>Uncovering Thomas Minar: A lifetime of achievement destroyed by consequences of hidden life by Isaac Gleitz, The Statehouse File, March 18, 2022</ref>
• Edward S. Minor (1840–1924), U.S. Representative
• Alexander Noble (1829–1905), town official in Fish Creek
• Conrad P. Olson (1882–1952), Oregon Supreme Court justice
• Sigurd F. Olson (1899–1982), wilderness guide
• Charles L. Peterson (1927–2022), painter
• Casey Rabach (born 1977), Washington Redskins center (NFL)
• David M. Raup (1933–2015), paleontologist
• Hugh M. Raup (1901–1995), ecologist
• Dennis A. Reed (born 1822), Wisconsin State Representative, Civil War lieutenant
• Charles Reynolds (1839–1914), Wisconsin State Representative, Civil War captain
• Thomas Reynolds<ref>Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Brown, Kewaunee and Door, Wisconsin, and containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1895, page 494</ref> (1840–1919), Wisconsin State Representative, patriarch of Wisconsin political dynasty
• Jack Ritchie (1922–1983), writer of detective fiction
• Hallie H. Rowe (1896–1992), sheriff, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
• Paul J. Schlise (born 1966), U.S. Navy admiral
• John Shinners (born 1947), football player
• Paul Sills (1927–2008), director, improvisation teacher
• Allen Thiele (1940–2017), Coast Guard officer
• Chester Thordarson (1867–1945), inventor, erected buildings on Rock Island
• Emma Toft (1891–1982), resort owner
• Madeline Tourtelot (1915–2002), artist, founder of the Peninsula School of Art
• James Valcq (born 1963), writer of musicals
• Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), economist
• Richard Warch (1939–2013), president of Lawrence University
• Lloyd Wasserbach (1921–1949), football player
• Charles Mitchell Whiteside (1854–1924), helped merge Sawyer and Sturgeon Bay
• Randy Wright (born 1961), Green Bay Packers quarterback (NFL)
• Albert Zahn (1894–1953), folk artist known as the Birdman

Politics

The county has gained a reputation as a political bellwether, as it voted for the winning candidate in every presidential election from 1996 to 2020. President Clinton was the last candidate, before 2024, to win nationally without carrying Door County in the 1992 presidential election. Donald Trump in the 2024 election also failed to win Door County, while winning statewide and nationally.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="t621">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2024, Kamala Harris became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county while losing the presidential election. Door County was one of only four counties in the state to swing towards Democrats in 2024. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Official website
• Door County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Door County Historical Society
• Map of Door County articles on Wikipedia