Fox Point

History

The Fox Point area has been inhabited for thousands of years. The earliest known inhabitants were Woodland period Mound Builders, who constructed earthen effigy and burial mounds in the area. Many of the mounds were destroyed by white farmers between 1850 and 1920. In the early 19th century, archaeologists also found traces of several Hopewell villages in the area. The land was opened to European and American settlers in the 1830s, after the Potawatomi signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The first survey of the area was conducted later that year, and the U.S. Federal Government began land parcels in present-day Fox Point in autumn 1835. Two Dutch Reformed congregations formed in the community in its early years. The community's demographics changed later in the nineteenth century. One of Fox Point's first black residents was Calvin Reeves, a formerly enslaved man from Louisiana who moved to the community after the American Civil War with two Dutch-American soldiers returning home from the conflict. German immigrants also began moving to Fox Point in the 1860s, forming St. John's Lutheran Church in 1866. Fox Point changed significantly in the 1890s. Many of the originally Dutch farmers had moved to the City of Milwaukee and to the southern Sheboygan County Town of Holland, and the villages of Oostburg and Cedar Grove. By 1898, the Dutch churches had disbanded. But at the same time, wealthy Milwaukeeans were building summer homes in the lakeside community, which was easily accessible via the Lakeshore & Western Railroad constructed in 1870 and later via the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company streetcars. In 1898, the Fox Point Club—the state's second golf course—opened in the community, and attracted even more wealthy residents to the area, serving as a social…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Fox Point, situated within the humid continental climate zone (Köppen prefix D), experiences distinct seasonal variation, with wide swings in temperature and precipitation. The village's immediate proximity to Lake Michigan makes it susceptible to lake-effect snow in the winter months. The warmest month of the year in Fox Point is July, with a high temperature average of 84 °F (28.9 °C) and low temperatures of 64 °F (17.8 °C). The summer months are the wettest months of the year, with frequent thunderstorms in the region. January is the coldest month, with average high temperatures averaging only 30 °F (-1.1 °C), and lows averaging 14 °F (-10 °C). February is the driest month.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,204
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  32,640
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  30,662
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28,724
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28,219
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,738
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  23,446
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23,375

Largest nearby schools

• HAPA-Hmong American Peace Academy K3-12
  Other · Milwaukee · 1,828 students · 28.6:1 ratio
• Obama School of Career and Technical Education
  Other · Milwaukee · 1,402 students · 29.8:1 ratio
• Milwaukee Academy of Science
  Other · Milwaukee · 1,401 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• King International
  High · Milwaukee · 1,283 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Riverside High
  High · Milwaukee · 1,229 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Golda Meir School
  Other · Milwaukee · 1,174 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• Nicolet High
  High · Glendale · 1,089 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• East High
  High · Wauwatosa · 1,067 students · 15.7:1 ratio