Maple Bluff | Sprinkman Real Estate

The Village of Maple Bluff

The Village of Maple Bluff has a little something for everyone. Situated on Lake Mendota, just northeast of downtown Madison, the neighborhood makes good use of it's natural beauty. With beaches and parks, the Maple Bluff Country Club and its amenities (an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, outdoor pool, cross country ski trails, and restaurants), lush yards with mature trees, and an amazing array of architecture, the neighborhood never fails to impress.

Maple Bluff is home to not only the Governor's Mansion and several other historic houses, but also the best sunset views in Madison. Community events like concerts and movies at Beach Park, the annual Bocce Ball fundraiser, the Holiday Tree Lighting, Winterfest Carnival, and Camp YaGottaWanna to name just a few are some of the reasons residents cite for loving where they live. The fact that the neighborhood is a ten minute bike ride to downtown is a definite plus, as are the local restaurants and businesses like Manna Cafe, Cafe Bella Italia, the Esquire, Fontaine, and the Willy St. Co-op.

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Sprinkman Real Estate's

Top Ten Reasons To Live In Maple Bluff

10. You can enjoy access to Maple Bluff Country Club for golf, tennis on clay courts, swimming and diving for fun or competitively, and both casual or fine dining.

9. A Village Marina for boat storage, and both canoe and kayak rental is moments away from home, making water sports a simple pleasure.

8. The Village Gym offers flag football, basketball, tae kwon do, camp outs, tot time, yoga, and pilates for all ages.

7. Every day you can enjoy walking through a historical neighborhood full of well preserved homes in different architectural styles.

6. Where else on Father's Day do men parade down the street in bathrobes only to get tossed in to Lake Mendota?

5. Families gather outside on warm summer nights for Outdoor Movie Nights, and instead of hiding away in winter, they have Winterfest with a chili cook-off, snowshoe races, "Ididerdad" races, skating, sledding and more.

4. The neighborhood celebrates the Fourth of July old school style with a parade, a Village softball game, watermelon eating contest, dunk tanks, BBQ and more!

3. Summer boredom is banished for younger kids who join Camp Ya-Gonna-Wanna (3 - 7) and older kids (7 - 14) who participate in Art & Athletics.

2. To celebrate the winter holidays, everyone is welcome to the Holiday Tree Lighting, complete with Santa, cookies and hot cocoa, carols, and a bonfire.

1. With the beautiful lake offering amazing sunset views, proximity to downtown, and true community spirit, it's a great place to call home.

Community

We've assembled all kinds of information and resources here to help you find your way in Maple Bluff. If you can't find what you're looking for here, give us a call and we'll make sure you get what you need.

Village Website

Calendar

Village Newsletters: Six times a year you receive a newsletter with exclusive events and news just for the Village.

Police & Fire Department: Maple Bluff has its own Police and Fire Departments

Maple Bluff Country Club: The members only club offers an 18-hole golf course, clay tennis courts and an outdoor pool

Parks and Recreation

Community Photos

Governor's Mansion: Officially known as The Executive residence, the Governor's Mansion sits on 3.7 acres along the eastern shore of Lake Mendota on Cambridge Road. Built in 1920 for Madison industrialist Carl A. Johnson, it was purchased by a Madison banker named Thomas R. Hefty, in 1932. In 1949 Hefty sold it to the State during for $47,500. Governors of Wisconsin, and their families, have called the residence home ever since.

Designed by architect Frank Riley in the southern Classical Revival style, it was renovated extensively during the 1960s. The more than 16,000 square feet of living space include 34 rooms, 13 bathrooms and 7 bedrooms and fireplaces. In 2009, then Governor Jim Doyle had solar panels installed which are now used to power the hot water heater.

An estimated 20,000,000 people visit the residence each year for receptions, dinners, meetings and free public tours which are offered on Thursdays from 1:00pm - 3:00pm during the months of April through August. Holiday tours are offered in December.

For reservations and further information, call (608) 246-5501.

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DOA

Restaurants

Café La Bellitalia	Kavanaugh's Esquire Club
Manna Café	Jacobson Brothers' Deli
QQ Asian Buffet	Jim's Meat Market
Smoky Jon's	Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream

Shopping

Dorn Hardware	Copps Grocery Store
Walgreens Drug Store	Pierce's Market

Services

Klinke Cleaners - Dry Cleaners	Anytime Fitness
Lakeview Library	Excellence In Dentistry

Sports & Recreation

Madison Mallards	Hartmeyer Ice Arena
East Madison Little League	Parks
Dance/Ballet

History

Summarized by Jennifer Geib from Douglas McLean's "Maple Bluff: A History of the Village and Community" (1975)

Until 150 years ago, the area that is now known as the Village of Maple Bluff was a heavily wooded part of Taychopera, the countryside around the famous Four Lakes. Winnebago Indians camped in Fuller's Woods and the Upper Bluff, taking advantage of the excellent fishing in the clear, cool waters of Lake Mendota and the hunting among the lush groves of maples and oaks. In season they would make sugar and maple syrup.

By 1840 most of the Winnebagos had been driven out of the area by acts of the Federal government. Land developers, notably James Doty, bought vast tracts of Taychopera from the government for $1.25 an acre. James McBride (for years the area was known as McBride's Bluff) bought the site in 1843 and lived there until his death in 1854 when the land was passed on to his sons. They sold the land off in portions, one of which went to Governor Leonard J. Farwell.

The Bluff was not good farmland, although there was once a cherry orchard on part of what is now the Maple Bluff Country Club golf course. The woodland soil could not begin to match the nearby prairies in fertility, and as a pasture, well, the cows had a tendency to fall off the bluff into the lake. A hundred years ago a large icehouse (clear, pure Lake Medota ice was in high demand throughout the Midwest) and a sausage factory occupied part of the Lower Bluff lakefront. And just outside the present Village limits was a brewery. These industrial beginnings never made it in to the 1900's.

Through most of the rest of the 19th Century, and early years of the 20th Century, the Bluff attracted those who preferred the remoteness of the area to the bustle of the continuously expanding Madison. By the early 1870's there had been only eleven property owners. One of them, a Norwegian named Halle Steensland, subdivided his land into summer cottages. He had only a few takers initially, but over the years the land became more desirable. Business and professional people, like University professors, increasingly found the the peacefulness of the area attractive.

Golfers appreciated the area, too. Maple Bluff Country Club was established in 1899 with only 5 holes on the course. The clubhouse was constructed in 1925. A few years later, in 1951, the Village of Maple Bluff was incorporated. The Villagers financed the paving of roads, installation of street lights and the building of storm sewer. They established their own Fire Department, as well. The Village eventually became part of the city, but the Villagers continued to take care of themselves except for a few services the city of Madison provided. There have not been any major changes in the Village since 1931. The old Village Hall was erected in the late 1950's and was replaced by the current building in 1999.

Maple Bluff has retained its character as a predominantly single-family residential community.

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