DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Door County Maritime Museum has been a hidden gem in the small fishing village of Gills Rock, but after changing the name to Death’s Door Museum coordinators are hoping it will help draw more people to the area.
Since 1975 Death’s Door Museum has been showcasing the rich maritime roots of Door County, seeing about 5,000 people each summer.
Museum volunteer Frank Forkert tells Fox 11…
“We have about 150 wrecks around the Door County Peninsula. So this museum is mostly about rescues, underwater wrecks, and commercial fishing.”
However, the shipwrecks aren’t the only reason Death’s Door was added to the museum.
“It’s actually from two Indian tribes at war that got caught in a storm and the many dead bodies,” Amy Paul the museum Executive Director.
Along with a recent name change, Paul tells FOX 11 a new bronze statue of a commercial fisherman has also been added to the front of the museum.
“Because this is such a rich commercial fishing village we wanted to commemorate the fishing families that spent their lives building this industry.”
While the changes and additions were minor, volunteers for the museum said they will make the experience better for visitors.
