Gills Rock, Wisconsin

Gills Rock is an unincorporated community located on Highway 42 at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin, United States.^[1] It is within the town of Liberty Grove and was formerly known as Hedgehog Harbor.

Gills Rock, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
Aerial view in 2020
Gills Rock Location within the state of Wisconsin
Coordinates: 45°17′24″N 87°01′18″W
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Door
Town	Liberty Grove
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	920

History

This area is known to the Potawatomi as Wah-ya-qua-kah-me-kong, for "head of the land" or "land's end".^[2] Today the area is named for Elias Gill, a local 19th century landowner.

Gills Rock has a strong history and tradition of commercial fishing, which continues to this day.^[3] Death's Door Maritime Museum is located there.^[4] The area is also popular with scuba divers who explore the many shipwrecks in and around Death's Door, the narrow strait connecting Lake Michigan to Green Bay, also known as Porte des Morts. The Pilot Island Light is located on Pilot Island near Gills Rock.

Gills Rock is also the departure point of a passenger ferry to Washington Island. ^[5] The vehicle ferry to Washington Island departs 2.25 miles (3.5 km) to the East, in Northport, Wisconsin^[6]

In popular culture

The town is the birthplace of fictional character Gwen Raiden from the TV series Angel.

Education

Gibraltar Area Schools serves the community. Gibraltar Elementary School and Gibraltar Secondary School are the two schools.^[7]

Climate

Table Bluff (At the northern tip of the Gills Rock area) Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D     66     −4 −9     60     −8 −10     62     0 −4     112     3 0     86     9 3     77     13 10     96     18 16     73     19 16     109     17 14     119     10 7     110     6 5     66     4 1 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: [8] Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6     25 16     2.4     18 14     2.4     32 25     4.4     37 32     3.4     48 37     3     55 50     3.8     64 61     2.9     66 61     4.3     63 57     4.7     50 45     4.3     43 41     2.6     39 34 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Images

• 
  Looking north at downtown Gills Rock
• 
  Sign on Wisconsin Highway 42
• 
  Welcome sign
• 
  Island Clipper ferry
• 
  Gust Klenke's garage
• 
  Fish tug Gem near Gills Rock, photo taken March 1973
• 
  Fishing village at Gills Rock, published 1941

References

1. "Gills Rock Populated Place Profile / Door County, Wisconsin Data".
2. Romance of Wisconsin Place Names by Robert E. Gard and L. G. Sorden, New York: October House, Inc. 1968, page 47
3. "Door County Pages". Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
4. "Death's Door Maritime Museum".
5. "The Island Clipper & The Viking Train". www.islandclipper.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
6. Washington Island Ferry
7. "Gibraltar Area Schools, Gibraltar Area School District, (Archived July 14, 2014)
8. "NASA EarthData Search". NASA. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

• Bogue, Margaret Beattie. Around the Shores of Lake Michigan A Guide to Historic Sites (1985, University of Wisconsin Press)

External links

• Google Maps - Aerial View
• Door County Chamber of Commerce - General Information