The Door Peninsula Celebrates Its Unique Heritage, June 17-23, 2024
Door County, Wis. (June 4, 2024) – For the third consecutive year, dozens of cultural and historical institutions throughout Door County have come together for Door County History Days, a weeklong celebration of history and heritage on the Door Peninsula. From Monday, June 17th to Sunday, June 23rd, 20-plus nonprofit organizations will host special programs around the theme ‘Surrounded by Water’ in villages and destinations across the county. From Rock Island State Park in the far northern portion of the county to Brussels in the far south, history will be on display in unique ways for Door County visitors and residents to experience and enjoy.
The official start of Door County History Days will be celebrated with a kickoff media event on the Washington Island Ferry Line’s boat The Eyrarbakki on Monday, June 17, from 9:00-10:30 am. The Eyrarbakki was built at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay in 1970 and the name was chosen to honor the Icelandic seacoast town from which early Island immigrants emigrated. Members of the press, politicians representing Northeast Wisconsin, and representatives from Door County’s many historical societies will all be in attendance. After boarding The Eyrarbakki at Northport Pier and sailing through Death’s Door to Washington Island there will be a short program followed by an opportunity to take a two-hour jaunt around the Island’s historical sites on the fabled Cherry Train, with commentary by Nina Herbst, director of the Island’s Jacobsens and Jackson Harbor Museums. Stops will include Jackson Harbor, one of the Island’s historic fishing communities with views to Rock Island, which received a new National Historic Landmark Designation in the fall of 2023, and coffee and sweet treats at local and visitor favorite, Jackson Harbor Soup.
The full History Days schedule can be found at: doorcounty.net/door-county-history-days, while information about participating institutions, special programs, and more is updated regularly on social media: facebook.com/heritageallianceofdoorcounty and Instagram (@heritageallianceofdoorcounty).
Door County History Days is designed to showcase the many organizations — historical societies, museums, and cultural groups — that actively preserve Door County’s unusually rich historical heritage and highlight the meaningful impact these organizations have for residents, tourism, and the economy.
The organizer, the Heritage Alliance of Door County, is a collaborative group made up of museums, historical societies, and educational institutions in Door County. The group exists to facilitate cooperation, collaboration and mutual promotion within the Door County historical community and is open to all historically interested individuals in Door County, Wisconsin, regardless of membership in any other entity or association.
2024 Door County History Days Participants:
BAILEYS HARBOR:
Baileys Harbor Historical Society
Björklunden
The Ridges Sanctuary
BRUSSELS:
Belgian Heritage Center
EGG HARBOR:
Door County Bookmobile
Horseshoe Bay Farms
Egg Harbor Historical Society
ELLISON BAY:
Liberty Grove Historical Society
EPHRAIM:
Ephraim Historical Foundation
FISH CREEK:
Alexander Noble House Museum
Gibraltar Historical Association
GILLS ROCK:
Death’s Door Maritime Museum
SISTER BAY:
Corner of the Past Museum
Sister Bay Historical Society
STURGEON BAY:
Door County Granary
Door County Museum and Archives
Door County Historical Society
Door County Library
Door County Maritime Museum
Heritage Village at Big Creek
Sturgeon Bay Historical Society
WASHINGTON ISLAND:
Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands
Friends of Rock Island
Jackson Harbor Maritime Museum
Jacobsens Museum
Washington Island Archives
Washington Island Art & Nature Center
Washington Island Farm Museum
PRIMARY EVENT SPONSORS:
Destination Door County
Peninsula Pulse
SPONSORS:
Door County Medical Center
Door County Piggly Wiggly
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