Gills Rock, Wisconsin
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Gills Rock, Wisconsin
|official_name =
|settlement_type = Unincorporated community
|nickname =
|motto =
|image_skyline = Aerial view of Gills Rock, Door County, Wisconsin 2020 (cropped).png
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Aerial view in 2020
|pushpin_map = USA Wisconsin
|pushpin_label = Gills
Rock
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Wisconsin
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map =
|map_caption = Location within Door county
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Wisconsin}}
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Door
|subdivision_type3 = Town
|subdivision_name3 = Liberty Grove
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes =
|area_magnitude =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_land_km2 =
|area_water_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2000
|population_footnotes =
|population_total =
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone = Central (CST)
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = CDT
|utc_offset_DST = -5
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_ft =
|coordinates = {{coord|45|17|24|N|87|01|18|W|type:city_region:US-WI|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|postal_code =
|area_code = 920
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Gills Rock is an unincorporated community located on Highway 42 at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin, United States.{{Cite web|url=http://wisconsin.hometownlocator.com/wi/door/gills-rock.cfm|title = Gills Rock Populated Place Profile / Door County, Wisconsin Data}} It is within the town 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".Romance of Wisconsin Place Names by Robert E. Gard and L. G. Sorden, New York: October House, Inc. 1968, page 47 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.{{Cite web |url=http://doorcounty.innline.com/area.asp?areaId=11 |title=Door County Pages |access-date=2007-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209232614/http://doorcounty.innline.com/area.asp?areaId=11 |archive-date=2007-02-09 |url-status=dead }} Death's Door Maritime Museum is located there.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcmm.org/deathsdoormaritimemuseum/|title = Death's Door Maritime Museum}} 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. {{Cite web|url=http://www.islandclipper.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991128102429/http://islandclipper.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 28, 1999|title=The Island Clipper & The Viking Train|website=www.islandclipper.com|access-date=2018-06-26}} The vehicle ferry to Washington Island departs 2.25 miles (3.5 km) to the East, in Northport, Wisconsin[http://www.wisferry.com/ Washington Island Ferry]
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."[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714211956/http://www.gasd.new.rschooltoday.com/ Gibraltar Area Schools], Gibraltar Area School District, (Archived July 14, 2014)
Climate
| {{climate chart
| Table Bluff (At the northern tip of the Gills Rock area) | -9| -4| 66 | -10| -8| 60 | -4| 0| 62 | 0| 3| 112 | 3| 9| 86 | 10| 13| 77 | 16| 18| 96 | 16| 19| 73 | 14| 17| 109 | 7| 10| 119 | 5| 6| 110 | 1| 4| 66 |float=left |clear=left }} |
Images
{{gallery|mode=packed|align=center|width=135|height=135
|File:GillsRockDowntownNorthWIS42.jpg|Looking north at downtown Gills Rock
|File:GillsRockSignWIS42.jpg|Sign on Wisconsin Highway 42
|File:GillsRockWisconsinWelcomeSign.jpg|Welcome sign
|File:Island Clipper ferry at Gills Rock.jpg|Island Clipper ferry
|File:Gust Klenke's garage Gills Rock, Door County, Wisconsin.jpg|Gust Klenke's garage
|Fish tug Gem near Gills Rock Door County Wisconsin.jpg|Fish tug Gem near Gills Rock, photo taken March 1973
|Fishing village Gills Rock Door County Wisconsin.jpg|Fishing village at Gills Rock, published 1941
}}
References
{{reflist}}
- Bogue, Margaret Beattie. Around the Shores of Lake Michigan A Guide to Historic Sites (1985, University of Wisconsin Press)
External links
- [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=gills+rock&sll=45.296143,-86.885376&sspn=0.672358,1.277161&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 Google Maps] - Aerial View
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312223646/http://www.doorcounty.com/plan/communities/ellison-bay-gills-rock.aspx Door County Chamber of Commerce] - General Information
{{Door County, Wisconsin}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin
Category:Unincorporated communities in Door County, Wisconsin