CONNEAUT

city, Ashtabula county, extreme northeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along Lake Erie at the mouth of Conneaut Creek and is adjacent to the Pennsylvania border (east). A temporary settlement, Fort Independence, was made there by a group from the Connecticut Land Company led by Moses Cleaveland (1796). The harbour site was permanently settled in 1799 by Thomas Montgomery and Aaron Wright. Conneaut is now a port of entry and a major transshipment point; Lake Superior iron ore is received, and coal and steel are shipped. The city's industry is diversified, and there are railroad shops and yards and commercial fisheries. Conneaut's name was derived from konyiat, a Seneca Indian word variously interpreted as large-mouth fish or place of late snows. The city has a notable historical railroad museum. Inc. village, 1834; city, 1902. Pop. (1990) 13,241; (1994 est.) 13,212.