Pancake: the us town where you can't buy pancakes
Photo: Geishabot
As the world celebrates Pancake Day, house-hunters may well find themselves wondering: is it possible to live in a place called Pancake? The answer is yes.
There are a number of places around the world named after pancakes, from Pancake Bay in Ontario to Pancake Island in Texas. There is another Pancake Island in South Dakota and yet another in Rhode Island. While most of these appear too small to be inhabited, there are some towns simply named "Pancake". There is a community bearing that most mouth-watering of monikers in Coryell County, Texas, and a similar place in Hampshire County, West Virginia.
Little information can be found about those communities, but one place called Pancake that has left a trace lies in Pennsylvania. It is not quite large enough to be called a town - it has no official post office - which means that it is officially a township, or neighbourhood.
The Washington County community sits near Interstates 70 and 79, which have brought business to the area, particularly the Pancake Amoco Service Station, which offers towing services as well as petrol.
There was once an elementary school in Pancake, but it closed, with kids attending a nearby district school instead. There is, however, a church, a park with basketball courts and, along the old National Road, a monument to WWII veterans.
How many people live in Pancake? Approximately 293 households, according to a survey by the Washington Presbytery church.
"Today, there are a lot of retirees, but we have new, younger families moving in as well," Joe Aloia, owner of the service station told TribLive.
"I do know this is a community with a lot of young children," commented Rev. David A. Stammerjohn. "This is a real strong, fresh community and I have always been impressed that the new people who moved here came for the same reasons that the old-timers came - that being the watchdog neighborhood lifestyle."
"I live on the far end of town, and I can go out on my porch and watch the deer and wild turkeys," said local resident Dock Crawford. "It's just real serene, I love it."
Where did the name come from? That depends where you look. According to the History of Washington County, it was originally called Martinsburg after Jonathan Martin, who laid out the town. Later, Dr. Byron Clark established a chemical laboratory in the area, renaming the place Laboratory.
According to Trulia, there are roughly seven homes for sale in the area around "Laboratory", Washington. Locals, though, still call it Pancake.
Indeed, the town was founded back in 1822 by one "George Pancake". Like batter in a non-oiled pan, Pancake stuck.
"I've lived here 72 years and love it," added Crawford.
"I would never give up being a Pancaker," agreed Gaylord Plants.
The only catch to living in a place called Pancake? Ironically, there's nowhere to buy pancakes.
"You can't get a pancake breakfast in Pancake unless you go to somebody's house and ask them to make you a batch," joked one resident.