Saint Francis

Right along the shore of Lake Michigan, Fernwood is a connected community inside Milwaukee’s Bay View area. It includes the northern part of Bay View Park with its sandy beach and access to the Oak Leaf Trail and sits beside the Bay View Community Center. It’s also less than 5 miles from Downtown Milwaukee. Fernwood is primarily residential streets filled with tightly lined single-family houses and duplexes. Detached garages are accessible through short private driveways or alleyways behind houses. Bungalows, ranches and National-style homes are typical, with a few houses mimicking the Dutch Colonial style with gambrel roofs and curved eaves. Prices range between $210,000 for a two- to three-bedroom inland home and $470,000 for a four-bedroom home near the water or a newly renovated property. Lots come with large grass lawns that stretch down to even sidewalks and wide paved roads. Students can attend Fernwood Elementary School, also known as Fernwood Montessori. The program educates students from kindergarten to eighth grade and is the only public school inside the neighborhood’s boundaries. Middle schoolers can attend Deer Creek Intermediate School, which partners with local organizations, like LimbForge, to provide hands-on STEM learning opportunities for students. Both schools have a score of C-plus on Niche. Bay View High School serves the area and has a C-minus rating on Niche. It is a "college bound" STEAM school that offers students college credit opportunities through AP and Project Lead the Way courses. Fernwood’s parks include Ellen Park, with its tennis and basketball courts, and Morgan Triangle Park, a small green space with open fields and shade trees. However, the staple of Fernwood is that it touches the shores of Milwaukee Bay, which is part of the greater Lake Michigan. Along the shores is also the northern end of Bay View Park, a long stretch of nature with bike trails and lake access. Locals like to walk along the shoreline or dip their toes in the water in the summer months. Bay View Community Center is another place where the community comes together. While the center is not inside Fernwood, “it’s adjacent to the neighborhood. It’s so close that it’s walkable,” says Mike Mortell, executive director at Bay View Community Center. “It’s an important part of the neighborhood; a lot of families take part in the center’s programs. We have playgroups, social activities for older adults and run a food pantry for neighbors in need. We even do a lot of parent education and give parents opportunities to connect with other families.” Bay View Community Center has been serving Southeastern Wisconsin for over 40 years. Landmark Restaurant is a local favorite serving classic American brunch, and Sprocket Café has a full coffee menu with deli sandwiches and bagels to go. Small Pie is another laidback café nearby serving flakey and freshly made hand pies alongside a variety of decadent baked goods. Around dinner time, locals will head to Francisco’s Bar and Grill. A time capsule of the 1980s, its menu specializes in cracker-thin-crust pizza and aged wine. Outpost Natural Foods is just 1 mile north when locals need to restock their pantry, or shoppers can swing by an open-air grocer right around the corner. Mortell says, “There’s a farmers’ market in South Shore Park that runs every Saturday from early summer into the end of October. It’s got over 40 vendors and does a lot of events.” South Shore Farmers’ Market has connected urban residents with regional farmers and food producers for over 25 years, giving locals access to various agricultural products, prepared foods, preserves and botanicals. The market also collaborates with non-profits serving the Bay View area and fills the market with music played by up-and-coming bands. While sidewalks make the small neighborhood of Fernwood highly walkable, many residents own cars. Alternatively, the Milwaukee County Transit System bus service stops several times in Fernwood along South Kinnickinnic, also known as Wisconsin State Route 32, and Oklahoma Avenue. The closest airport to Fernwood is Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport a little over 5 miles away.

Tippecanoe is a primarily residential neighborhood on the south side of Milwaukee, just west of the city of St. Francis. "Tippecanoe is very popular because it borders the hip and trendy Bay View area," says Daniel Balderas, the owner/Broker of Modern MilwauKEY Real Estate. "But it still has that small neighborhood feel." Tippecanoe offers midcentury homes at a more affordable price point than Bay View, with proximity to major city corridors, the international airport and the Lake Michigan coast. Minimal traditional and ranch-style homes from the 1940s line the gridded residential streets. Homes with around 1,000 sq. ft. start for just under $200,000. Newly renovated properties with larger floor plans get up to $300,000. And there are a handful of renovated early-1900s bungalows at prices around $400,000, but they tend to fly off the market within a few days. Homes have the classic Milwaukee detached garage and enjoy front lawns just big enough for a garden. Wide sidewalks are shaded by mature trees, and well-marked crosswalks shepherd kids on their way to school. Tippecanoe Park sits behind the Clement Avenue school, and kids enjoy getting their energy out on the playground. Emigh Playfield has baseball/softball fields and a marked soccer field for community games. Just a mile north in Bay View, Humboldt Park is used year-round for summer concerts, Fourth of July fireworks and winter sledding. It includes a stocked fishing pond and a summer beer garden as well. The Bay View area also has a selection of trendy bars and hip eateries, all bikeable from Tippecanoe. The centrally located Clement Avenue Public School caters to grades kindergarten through eight and is walkable for many neighborhood kids. The school gets a rating of C from Niche. Parents enjoy the ease of nearby after-school care programs, and kids can participate in the fall musical or work with local arts organizations. Some parents send their young learners to the public Bay View Montessori School, rated C-plus, which offers a student-led curriculum emphasizing independence and creativity. Many kids head to Bay View High School, rated C-minus, to finish their education. The high school has a STEAM-based curriculum with specialty classes in art, design and engineering. The Tippecanoe Library is a neighborhood staple of the community, with various events and an outdoor children's storytelling area modeled after the book "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. "We're in the Garden District, so folks are into green programming with an environmental focus," says librarian Dan Roubik. That passion can be seen at the library's Climate Action Book Club and at the Garden District Community Garden, known for its plant sales and Christmas lights display. Tippecanoe is bordered by roads with small restaurants and bars. Copper Kitchen is a quintessentially American diner for breakfast. The locally-owned Gold Rush Chicken has served the community since 1957 and is often cited as the best spot for fried chicken in the Bay View area. For a night out, residents can walk to Gingerz, an Irish pub with outdoor games, or Scotty's, known for their Friday fish fry. There's a whole selection of local places, many open until the wee hours of the morning, with traditions like trivia nights and bartenders who recognize neighborhood faces. And when it's time for errands, Pick' n Save, Piggle Wiggly and Target are a mile north. Residents can take Interstate 94 or 794 into downtown Milwaukee, 6 miles away. There usually isn't much traffic, and the trip ranges from 10 to 20 minutes. Bus lines also run into the city, about a 30-minute journey. The neighborhood is also close to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, 2 miles away. Locals enjoy a convenient bus to the airport that takes about 10 minutes along Howell Avenue. But the proximity to the airport sometimes means ambient plane noise overhead, though most homes are far enough away not to be bothered.

The Town of Lake neighborhood was once a real town, comprised of a large section of agricultural land south of Milwaukee.