Como Lake is a 68 acres (275,186.5 m²) lake up to 15.5 feet (4.7 m) deep in St. Paul, Minnesota. It, along with the neighboring Como Park, has been a recreation area for residents of the Twin Cities for more than a century

Century

A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...

. It was named in 1848 by local farmer Charles Perry. A pavilion sits on the west side of the lake, and plays host to theatrical performances and concerts during the warmer months. The park features a variety of attractions, including the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, and is heavily used whenever good weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 beckons people to go outside.

History

After James-Younger Gang

James-Younger gang

The James-Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that included Jesse James.The gang was centered in the state of Missouri. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months...

 member Charlie Pitts was killed in the chaotic aftermath of the disastrous September 7, 1876 Northfield, Minnesota

Northfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...

 raid, his body was boxed up and temporarily submerged in the lake by Dr. Henry Hoyt, a local physician who wanted the bleached skeleton

Skeleton

The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...

 as a display piece for his office. The skeleton was on display for unknown number of years at the Stage Coach Museum in Shakopee, MN. IN 1981 the remains were donated to the Northfield Historical Society. Currently the skeleton is housed in the Physical Anthropology Lab at Minnesota State University

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Minnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...

 in Mankato

Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...

 awaiting analysis.

Local lore has it that Pitts' ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 haunts the corner of the lake where his body was interred, this corner is commonly referred to as Seltz' Point.

Fish

The lake contains black bullhead

Black bullhead

The black bullhead, Ameiurus melas, is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins and no scales...

, black crappie, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, golden shiner

Golden shiner

The golden shiner is a cyprinid fish native to eastern North America. It is the sole member of its genus. Much used as a bait fish, it is probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States.-Description:...

, green sunfish

Green sunfish

The green sunfish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish...

, hybrid sunfish, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, pumpkinseed

Pumpkinseed

The pumpkinseed sunfish is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is also referred to as "pond perch", "common sunfish", "punkys", and "sunny".-Range and distribution:...

, walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, white sucker

White Sucker

The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...

, yellow bullhead

Yellow bullhead

The yellow bullhead, is a species of bullhead catfish. Yellow bullhead are typically yellow-olive to slatey-black on the back and sometimes mottled depending on habitat. The sides are lighter and more yellowish while the underside of the head and body are bright yellow, yellow white, or bright...

, and yellow perch

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

. Some fish consumption guideline restrictions have been placed on the lake's bluegill, bullhead, crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, and walleye due to mercury and/or PFOS contamination.