JEFFERSONVILLE — Lake Jeffersonville has a storied history and is much treasured by local residents, but now it's in need of a little extra love.

A dam and subsequently the lake were created in 1927 and became the property of the Lake Jefferson Hotel.

At the time, guests and village residents enjoyed the lake during the summer swimming or boating on it.

But when business began to decline in the 1980's, the hotel sold the dam to Malcolm Brown, founder of local radio station WJFF, which used the dam to fuel the radio station with hydroelectricity.

The hotel continued to languish until it went out of business in 1998 and the lake was sold to a different owner.

Today, the lake is accessible only to those who own property around it and the dam, which has fallen into disrepair, is now owned by Kevin and Barbara Gref.

Part-time Jeffersonville resident Andrew Weinstein, learning of this information, began reaching out to lake property owners and local residents and soon enough formed the Save Lake Jeff initiative.

The non-profit's long-term goal is to renovate the dam and turn the private property where the hotel once stood into a public park by transferring ownership to the village, Town of Callicoon, or Sullivan County.

“For me, the lake has always been the emblem of the town,” Weinstein said. “Many towns in the area—Narrowsburg, Callicoon—are sort of defined by their water, and this is Jeffersonville's own identity. To preserve it is important.”

After the flood of 2006 the dam was severely damaged. The group contracted with a company to perform an engineering assessment that is currently underway.

This will evaluate what is wrong with the dam and what expenses are to be expected in repairing it.

These costs are being footed by the group and fundraising efforts are underway. They recently held a yard sale and raised just over $2,000. In addition, the Jeffersonville JEMS donated $200.

JEMS also maintains a pull-off viewing spot on Route 52.

“The more that people can enjoy it the better, and that's in keeping with what the lake has always been for the town. A lot of people have memories of this place,” Weinstein said.

One of those people is Meaghan Mullally-Gorr, who would spend the summer and weekends on her family's land on the lake when she was growing up.

She joined Save Lake Jeff last year and has become the spokesperson.

“Lake Jeff is such an important piece of the history of Jeffersonville, it's how people recognize Jeffersonville, and it's what could be the future,” she said.

The group also hopes to see the lake bring economic vitality to the village. They believe many businesses would benefit from increased activity, as has been seen in towns with water access like Narrowsburg or Livingston Manor.

“If it were to disappear it would be a terrible assault on civic pride, and I think it would end up damaging the economy,” Weinstein said.

The group will continue to fundraise and anyone can make a donation at www.lakejeff.org.