Death's Door (Porte des Morts) Strait

The county takes its name from this water. Porte des Morts — Death's Door — is the passage between the tip of the Door Peninsula and Washington Island, and the French named it that for a reason: strong currents, rock-bound shores, and winds capable of pinning a sailing vessel in place. The earliest written reference dates to 1728. The legend behind the name involves a Native American war party destroyed in a sudden storm, though the Wisconsin Shipwrecks record notes frankly that fact and folklore here have never fully separated.