Spinnler Point History
Dream it.
In the early 1920s, the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PPL) initiated a project to crate hydroelectric power and help control flooding. They proposed building a dam across Wallenpaupack Creek in Wilsonville, PA. The dam would provide electricity to the surrounding communities and create a lake 13 miles long with 52 miles of shoreline. The name of the lake was taken from the Lenape Indian word for “stream of swift water” - Wallenpaupack.
Before the project could begin, PPL began purchasing all of the 100 properties needed to construct the lake at approximately $20 an acre. One family, the Spinnlers, refused to sell. Joseph Spinnler’s steadfast refusal to sell off the properties forced PPL to begin the project without it. Their decision not to sell meant that their property did not conform to the property boundary lines PPL had instituted for the rest of the lake, allowing the Spinnlers full lake rights up to the shoreline. This would be one of the most important factors creating the unique and sought after community which would one day bear the family name, Spinnler Point.
Build it.
Construction of the dam began in May 1924, and was officially opened to the public for fishing and boating on August 19, 1928. With the creation of the lake, there was the potential for developing a tourist industry and soon after completion, Lake Wallenpaupack became a popular spot for fishing and boating. The Spinnler family decided to begin selling parcels of their farm land in the 1930’s, and the Spinnler estate became one of the first communities on the lake.
As the first properties were sold in the 1930’s, the new owners built small houses for use as family summer homes. As some of the residents acquired additional properties, they built cottages to be used as summer weekly rentals. Eventually, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, these cottages were sold as private summer homes.
Early on Joseph Spinnler had set aside four lakefront tracts of land to ensure that everyone in the community, regardless of their property location, would have the opportunity to access the lake for swimming and boating. This right of access was included in their property deeds. By the 1960’s, the number of residents increased to the point that the Spinnler family realized there was a need to form an association to maintain the lakefront access area now known as “areaways,” as well as the roads.
Grow it.
In 1965, Frank Spinnler (Joseph’s son) passed away. His father had died in 1945, and Frank’s sister Margaret Knecht, became owner of the Spinnler estate. She called for a meeting of the residents at her house to form an association, which was finalized on July 4, 1965. Approximately 52 property owners were present. She asked that the community be called “Spinnler Point” and she proposed a set of laws to be set into place before she transferred ownership of the four areaways. The members were not in complete agreement with her suggestions.
On July 3, 1966, another meeting was called but no progress was made. During the following years, the main goal of the association was to obtain ownership of the areaways. For four difficult years the association members persevered and on December 9, 1970, they were rewarded with the granting of a Charter of Incorporation to the Spinnler Point Colony Association as a non-profit corporation. At the December meeting of the same year, the officers voted to purchase Lots #41-9-87-89-91 and the areaways became association properties.
Because of the hard work and perseverance of these early residents, plus their financial contributions, Spinnler Point is one of the most sought after communities on the lake today.