The Story Behind the Name of the Nearby Lake

Lake Como is a village in Pennsylvania whose name dates back to a trip to Italy. After returning from a visit to Lake Como in Italy, Leonard H. Allison named the village and nearby lake in memory of his journey. The Italian connection explains the name and offers a personal entry point into the local history: the name preserves a travel memory and sits alongside the stories of the tannery and the religious community.

The nearby lake also has an earlier name: it was once known as Six Mile Pond. This places two distinct naming stories side by side. Allison attributed the connection to Lake Como to his trip to Italy; Six Mile Pond is the lake’s former name. The distinction is useful for getting your bearings: Lake Como refers to both the village and the lake, while Six Mile Pond is understood as the lake’s former name.

The Tannery, Community and Church

Lake Como was founded in 1859 with the construction of a tannery. It was built by Leonard H. Allison, John Davidge, Horace H. Crary and Lucien Horton, from Hancock, New York. This ties the village’s beginnings to a specific construction project, not just a date. The tannery was the economic starting point of the local history; Allison’s choice of name also tells the story of a personal travel memory. Together, these topics offer different ways into Lake Como’s early history.

The religious history can also be placed in time. The Lake Como Methodist Episcopal Congregation was founded in 1863; the Lake Como Methodist Episcopal Church was built around 1863. The congregation was founded four years after the tannery was built; the church’s construction is dated to approximately the same year. The dates vary in precision. The congregation’s founding and the church’s construction can therefore be considered two separate points in local history, rather than combined into a single event.

Road Connections and Earlier Stays

Pennsylvania Route 247 is a useful reference for getting around: it runs through Lake Como. For a visit focused on history, this offers two kinds of orientation: the route as a road reference and the dates as a way into the village’s history. They answer different questions and can be considered separately when planning a trip.

Visitors’ earlier stays are also part of the story. Lake Como was one of the places in Wayne County where summer guests once stayed on farms or in dedicated guesthouses. This perspective on visitors complements the history of the tannery and religious community: it is not about the village’s beginnings, but about where summer guests found accommodation. The local history thus encompasses both Lake Como’s development and travelers’ stays in earlier times.

Discover more destinations: Hawley, Beach Lake, Lake Ariel, Honesdale, Gouldsboro, Newfoundland, Wayne, Starlight.

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