Lakemore grew from summer cottages on Springfield Lake
Lakemore started as a lake resort neighborhood and was established as a village in 1921. Springfield Lake, a natural kettle lake fed by an underground spring, drew Akron families in the early 1900s, and interurban trains on the Akron-Canton line brought picnickers out for the day.
An amusement park opened on the lake in 1914, with rides, a pony track, boating and dancing. It closed after a roller coaster accident in 1930 injured 13 people. The park is believed to have stood on the lake’s southern edge, where the Springfield Lake Roller Rink is today, and Lakemore takes in the rink and much of that southern shore.
As Akron’s rubber plants grew, the cottages around the lake filled in and became the Lakemore housing area. The 1930 census counted 1,670 people. The 2020 count was 2,926, down from a peak of 3,068 in 2010.
Older houses, and more of them empty
Lakemore’s housing is older than the township around it. By the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates, about 24% of Lakemore’s roughly 1,500 homes were built in 1939 or earlier, compared with about 15% in the rest of Springfield Township. The median build year is 1969.
Other figures to know:
- About 84% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
- About 78% are single-family detached.
- The median home value, as owners estimate it, is about $158,400.
- About 9% of housing units were vacant.
An old cottage that was winterized decades ago, or a house that has sat empty after an owner moved to care, often needs more than a weekend of fixes. Our page on selling a vacant house covers insurance, utilities and timing for empty properties, and selling a house full of stuff helps if the contents are still inside.
Village water, sewer and inspections
Lakemore runs its own utility billing, which matters at closing. The village bills water and sewer service, and it amended its sanitary sewer rates effective July 1, 2026. Billing questions go to 330-733-6125, ext. 4, and water or sewer line emergencies to 330-212-2955.
Before closing, ask the village for a final meter reading on your closing date so the title company can settle the last bill. Our guide to transferring utilities when you sell has a checklist, and water bill liens in Ohio explains what can happen to an unpaid balance.
On inspections, a 2025 title-company list shows no point-of-sale inspection in Lakemore. Zoning questions go to the village administrator at ext. 3.
Springfield schools sit inside the village
Lakemore is part of the Springfield Local School District, which also serves Springfield Township. The district’s junior high and senior high schools are in Lakemore, and so is the SUPER Learning Center, a private faith-based K-12 school. The village also has a branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
Village government is a mayor and a six-member council, all elected at large to four-year terms. Lakemore has its own police and fire departments, reached through the municipal building at 1400 Main Street.
Lakemore’s waterfront and neighbors
Lakemore covers about 1.67 square miles, about 0.19 of it water. Dodds Lakefront Park has the village’s public boat ramp on Springfield Lake. The Millheim United Church of Christ, built in 1879, is one of the village’s oldest landmarks.
The Springfield Township page covers the township that surrounds Lakemore, including its septic areas and mobile homes, and county-wide steps are on the Summit County page. If you’d rather skip the repairs on a Lakemore house, ask for a written offer.