Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay between the northern tip of the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin and a group of islands historically known as the Potawatomi Islands and dominated by Washington Island. The French name for the strait means, literally, "the door of the dead".
In September 2011, my novel research took me to Washington Island via the Washington Island ferry.
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| Washington Island Ferry 2011 |
The sightseeing trip over to Washington Island began at Northport Pier outside of Sister Bay at the tip of Door County Peninsula. Sights included the passageway between Lake Michigan and Green Bay that has become known as the Doorway to Death. The possible reasons for this name vary widely.
Beginning the ferry ride to Washington Island
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| Lighthouse of Plum Island 2011 |
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| Death's Door - on a calm day. But conceivably an ominous sight for occupants of canoes when a stiff north wind sets in. Plum Island with Lighthouse on the left; Pilot Island on the right. |
One account explaining the name of the strait lays out a battle between the Potawatomi and Winnebago nations, possibly in the 1600s, during a power struggle that resulted in many lives lost on both sides when heavy winds mid-channel capsized the canoes in the surf and dashed them against rocks.
Another tale suggests the French named the passage Porte des Mortes to discourage the English from establishing fur trade routes to Wisconsin. Whatever caused the deaths of many warriors and the naming of the passage, most Great Lakes freighters use a different route these days.
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| Docked on Washington Island Happy to have safely by-passed Death's Door ***** |
