Sturgeon Bay Canal Station (Coast Guard)

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal cuts 1.3 miles through the Door Peninsula, saving ships the run through Porte des Morts — the strait the county is named for, a passage the Potawatomi knew as Death's Door long before any lighthouse existed. The Coast Guard station here stands at the Lake Michigan entrance to that canal, where the canal meets the open water. Door County's history was built on navigating dangerous passages. This station was part of how that navigation became survivable.