Gills Rock is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located on Highway 42 at the northern tip of the

Door Peninsula The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula includes northern Kewaunee County, northeastern Brown County, and the mainland portion of Door Co ...

in Door County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. It is within the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Liberty Grove and was formerly known as Hedgehog Harbor.

History

This area is known to the Potawatomi as Wah-ya-qua-kah-me-kong, for "head of the land" or "land's end". 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. Death's Door Maritime Museum is located there. The area is also popular with

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

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 Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and Green Bay between the northern tip of the Door Peninsula and the southernmost of the Potawatomi Islands. At its narrowe ...

. The

Pilot Island Light The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin. The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but is made of brick instead of stone. ...

is located on

Pilot Island Pilot Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the Town of Washington, in Door County, Wisconsin; it is part of Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in ...

near Gills Rock. Gills Rock is also the departure point of a ferry to Washington Island.

In popular culture

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

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

.''

Education

Gibraltar Area Schools serves the community. Gibraltar Elementary School and Gibraltar Secondary School are the two schools.Gibraltar Area Schools
''Gibraltar Area School District'', (Archived July 14, 2014)

Climate

Images

References

*Bogue, Margaret Beattie. ''Around the Shores of Lake Michigan A Guide to Historic Sites'' (1985,

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic community; works of fiction, memoir and p ...

)

External links

Google Maps
- Aerial View
Door County Chamber of Commerce
- General Information {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Door County, Wisconsin