Walworth is a small town that lies in the shadow of nearby Fontana Beach
Walworth is a small South Wisconsin town chosen most often for its proximity to Lake Geneva and its quiet, tight-knit community. It is the kind of place where tourists join the local teenagers for milkshakes and fries at Meggy Moo’s, where children ride bikes to the beach and to school, and where homeowners enjoy the easy pace of life so often associated with the summer continues year-round. “Walworth is the first town over the Illinois-Wisconsin border, so a lot of people come from Illinois to get away from those taxes,” says Realtor Kristin Stahulak with Keller Williams, who has over 35 years of experience in the area. “It’s also right next to Fontana-On-Geneva Lake, which is a big tourist destination for the beach, but homes in Walworth aren’t as expensive as they are in Fontana. So you get very similar access – it’s something like a five- or ten-minute bike ride for a kid to get to the beach – for a much better price.”
Golfing at Big Foot Country Club and beach days at Fontana Beach
Devil’s Lane Park has a small playground and a baseball diamond. Other small green spaces like Rotary Park offer picnic shelters and open fields. Golfers will enjoy access to the nearby country club. “The Big Foot Golf Range and the Big Foot Country Club are popular with golfers,” Stahulak says. “Other than those, the biggest draw is Geneva Lake and Fontana Beach. Kids ride their bikes there in the summer. There’s a marina on the shore there, and people love to go out boating and fishing.”
Cottages and farmhouses on shady Wisconsin streets
Houses in Walworth sit on shaded lots beneath tall, mature trees. Sidewalks crisscross the town on either side of Kenosha Street. An eclectic mix of housing styles look out over the streets, watching as children ride their bicycles through the area on their way to the beach in the summer months. “A lot of what you’ll find are smaller, older houses from around the 1950s and classic farmhouses,” Stahulak says. “There are also newer subdivisions, built between the 1990s and now, but the established neighborhoods are generally 30 years old or more.” Prices for single-family homes typically range from $150,000 to $520,000, depending on number of bedrooms, build year and square footage.
Walworth Elementary serves as the town's elementary and middle schools
Children in Walworth are zoned to attend Walworth Elementary School, which earns a C from Niche and educates students from kindergarten through grade 8. “Big Foot High is the high school for all of Walworth and Fontana,” Stahulak says. The school, named after Potawatomi Chief Big Foot, receives a B-minus.
Meggy Moo's Dairy Ripple is a summertime staple
Daniel’s Foods at the Walworth Village Market is a local supermarket chain that has been a community staple for over 100 years. The closest Walmart Supercenter is 9 miles north in Delvan, although residents can also pick up daily household necessities at local mom-and-pop shops like Heyer True Value Hardware and Angelus Home and Garden. Restaurants in town range from classic American diners like Sammy’s On The Square and Siemers Cruise Inn to summertime staple Meggy Moo’s Dairy Ripple. “Meggy Moo’s has always been hugely popular,” Stahulak says. “It’s that place where high school kids go to hang out in the summer, or where families take their kids for burgers and ice cream.”
Route 14 is the main highway for Walworth
Walworth sits at the crossroads of two country highways. “People come up Route 14 because that’s the main commuter lane to Harvard, Illinois,” Stahulak says. “It’s also the quickest way to connect to Interstate 43.” Route 67, which heads northeast of town, is the most direct route through Fontana-On-Geneva Lake to the Walworth Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center, just under 3 miles away.
