One of the Most Remote Places in the U.S.

there's nothing in Wisconsin quite like this a finger of land surrounded by water that remains one of the most remote and beautiful places in the nation it's called the door Peninsula and stretches out 82 miles northeast from Green Bay like the jagged blade of a knife reaching right up to the Michigan border once ships carrying Wisconsin timber had to travel all the way around the peninsula to bring that timber to ports like Chicago in Detroit it was such a dangerous passage it was known as death's door which was how the door Peninsula got its name over the centuries hundreds of vessels shipped wrecked in these Shoal filled waters but in the 1870s businessmen Doug and Jayant canal across the door Peninsula to shorten the route to Green Bay from Lake Michigan today it's managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and is home to one of the last great industries still in operation on the Great Lakes the bay shipbuilding company in the town of sturgeon de here highly skilled crews are kept busy repairing and building vessels of all sizes when their shifts end the workers head home to life in one of the most idyllic spots in the u.s. edged by a rocky and weather-beaten coastline on three sides the door Peninsula seems magically removed from the rest of the world thinning to less than two miles of its northern tip it's full of old farms wineries and golden fields of wheat but the threats to ships on Lake Michigan are still very real which is why the peninsula is home to a magnificent collection of historic lighthouses 11 and all they're strong like bright pearls around its neck one of the most dramatic is this one the Cana Island Lighthouse soars over the eastern side of the peninsula and is one of the most recognized landmarks in all of Wisconsin first lit in 1870 Cana Island Light still serves as a navigational aid though it's antique glass lens is now automated and computer-controlled

Channel: Smithsonian Channel

Views: 122,215

Rating: 4.8707519 out of 5

Keywords: bay, Bay Ship Building, Sturgeon, Documentary, fur, Green Bay, shoal, Lake Michigan, detroit, trade, smithsonian, canal, 19th century, Facts, peninsula, free videos, video, channel, chicago, Wisconsin, Great Lakes, Door, shipbuilding, michigan, TV online, watch, ships, lighthouses, Episodes, stream TV, free tv, Death’s Door, Army Corps of Engineers, commerce, timber

Id: 1WrdiBJj6Is

Length: 2min 37sec (157 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 15 2015