Past and Present
It was created approximately twelve thousand years ago by glacial ice which geological experts believe may have been as much as a mile thick. Conneaut Lake spans 929 acres. The lake is 3 miles long and a mile across at its widest point and is as deep as 90 feet in some places.
The native word (kon-ne-ot) means “snow waters” reflecting what the Seneca witnessed as Winter was transitioning to Spring and the ice and snow on the lake remained after already melting on land.
The town was founded by Abner Evans in 1793 and was originally named Evansburg in 1796. Then in 1892 the town name was changed to Conneaut Lake to reflect the name most commonly used to describe the town and the area (Conneaut). Abner Evans began his gristmill business in 1795 and soon after, other sawmills and carding mills were established. In 1886 Channellock. Inc., a quality producer and global distributor of hand tools, began its operations in Conneaut Lake.
In 1880, the Conneaut Lake Ice Company was founded. During the early 1900s and until the 1930s, ice from the lake was harvested and stored in huge ice houses at the south end of the lake. From there, the ice was shipped regularly to many towns and cities, large and small. It is believed that in some years more than 100,000 tons were harvested.
The lake was not always at its current level. In 1834 when the Beaver and Erie Extension Canal was in operation, the French Creek canal was connected into Conneaut Lake. It raised the level of the lake by 11 feet. Business prospered as a result of the canal, but the higher water level was likely responsible for an outbreak of malaria in Evansburg resulting in many deaths. By the 1870s, the canal era was ending as railroad transportation was becoming the way of the future. By 1881 the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad was servicing Evansburg.
In 1907, a trolley line began operation extending from Linesville, through Exposition Park, through Conneaut Lake, and connecting to Meadville. By the 1920s, the automobile had replaced the trolleys.
It provides annual residents, summer residents, and tourists, from near and far, an abundance of recreational activities ranging from swimming, fishing, boating, skiing, sailing, golfing and biking in the summer, to ice-fishing, snowmobiling, and 4-wheeling in the winter.
Things to Do
By: Bronson B. Luty Edited by: Jonathan E. Helmreich, Robert D. Ilisevich, and Robert S. Wycoff Copyright: 1994 Published by: Crawford County Historical Society
By: Jane Smith on behalf of the Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society Copyright: 2012 Published by: Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC
By: Lee O. Bush and Richard F. Hershey Copyright: 1992 Published by: Amusement Park Books, Inc., Fairview Park, OH
