Death's Door Passage - Door County, Wisconsin USA

Submitted by: Tim Sweet

"Plum Island Boat House" The Plum Island Boathouse is located in the Death’s Door Passage off the northern tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula between the waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay.  The Coast Guard built the structure in 1939 to house their rescue vessels.  Immediately adjacent to boathouse is an 1895 Duluth-Style U.S. Life-Saving Station.  A 10-minute hike across the island leads to a set of 1896 range lights and a lighthouse keepers’ dwelling.  Maritime history abounds on this 300-acre island.  Now part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands are working cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support the goals of preservation, restoration, maintenance and contemporary use of the lighthouses,and other historic resources on Plum and Pilot Islands and to conserve and protect wildlife resources, while providing public access to the islands’ history and opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation. The people in the photo include several Girl Scouts, Fish and Wildlife Service personnel, and a volunteer from the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands received a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation last year to fund a the creation of a Building Stabilization Plan.  The first phase of the plan was completed when a new roof was put on the nearby Pilot Island Lighthouse.  The next phase of the plan is to paint the boathouse which is expected to happen next spring. - Tim Sweet