The lake provided a key natural resource contributing significantly to the economy of the area for a period of time spanning almost 5 decades.

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.