have been formidable hazards for all ships, but especially
for sailing vessels, which were exceptionally susceptible
to the hazards of the Door. The dangers of the passage were
somewhat reduced with the construction of a light on Plum
Island in 1848, a lighthouse on Pilot Island in 1850, and
a new Plum Island lighthouse in 1896 . Despite these navigational
aids, however, some 24 sailing vessels, including schooners,
barks, and brigs, were lost in Death's Door from 1837 to 1914.
Adjacent islands, shoals, and bays claimed 40 others between
the 1830s and the 1940s. Hundreds of other vessels of all
types stranded, foundered, or wrecked in Death's Door but
were pulled off by salvage efforts and refloated.
1896 Pilot Island lighthouse
passage's menace was great enough that a canal was cut through
at Sturgeon Bay in 1881 to allow vessels to pass through to
Green Bay without hazarding the Door. Nevertheless, many sailing
vessels continued to use the Door rather than pay canal tolls
and tug fees. The local maritime mishaps of the twentieth
century have been mostly occasional strandings, with a few
fires and collisions, most of which took place outside of
Death's Door proper.
Despite the great many
ships destroyed by Death's Door, the hazardous passage fortunately
failed to live up to its name during the nineteenth century.
Some sailors had very close encounters with death during this
period, but none actually lost their lives to the passage's
swirling currents and rocky shores. In large part, this is
due to the heroic life-saving efforts of local inhabitants,
passing ships, and the U.S. Light House and Life Saving Services.
Read about some of these episodes that left the wreckage of
ships near Pilot Island and the nearby Fleetwing
in Garrett Bay.