Washington Island is a town in northern Door County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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, with a population of 708 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Detroit Harbor and Washington are located in the town. The town of Washington Island is made up of a group of small islands that includes Plum Island, Detroit Island, Hog Island, Rock Island, Pilot Island, Fish Island, and the largest, Washington Island. The majority of the population of the town lives on Washington Island and many of the other smaller islands are partly or entirely protected areas with no year-round population, if any at all. As a result, the area is rarely if ever referred to as the town of Washington or just Washington; more commonly the names of the individual islands are used as a reference. Most of the people who settled on Washington Island were Scandinavian immigrants, especially Icelanders. Today, Washington Island is one of the oldest Icelandic communities in the United States and among the largest outside of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

itself.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 125.5 square miles (325.0 km²), of which, 25.5 square miles (66.0 km²) of it is land and 100.0 square miles (259.0 km²) of it (79.69%) is water. The land area is composed of Plum Island, Detroit Island, Washington Island, Hog Island, Pilot Island, Fish Island, and Rock Island. Washington Island is the largest in a chain of islands (which are collectively referred to as the Potawatomi Islands) extending across

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

between the Door Peninsula in

and the Garden Peninsula in Delta County,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. These islands are outcroppings of the Niagara Escarpment.

Demographics

The 2010 US Census lists 708 residents. In the older 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 660 people, 293 households and 198 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 25.9 people per square mile (10.0/km²). There were 903 housing units at an average density of 35.4 per square mile (13.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.79%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.30% Asian, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.15% of the population. 24.9% were of German, 15.3% Norwegian, 12.3% English, 9.1% Danish, 8.8% Irish and 6.1% Icelandic ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 293 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.79. The age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 17.4% from 25 to 44, 33.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,146, and the median income for a family was $45,481. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $17,065. About 4.7% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Washington Island Airport (2P2) serves the town and surrounding communities. The airport contains two runways and is open year-round There is a ferry available to travel to Washington Island season-round.

Economy

Most of the town's economy is based on tourism.

References

External links

Door County Chamber of Commerce
– General Information
Washington Island Chamber of CommerceWashingtonIsland.comGoogle Maps
– Maps & Aerial Photos {{authority control Towns in Door County, Wisconsin Icelandic-American culture in Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin