Lake Lefferts

Lake Lefferts is a lake in Matawan that was formed by the damming of Matawan Creek in 1928. The lake is situated between Main Street, Ravine Drive, and Route 516, crossing under Route 34 between the First Presbyterian Church and the Buttonwood Manor restaurant.

The lake was named after real estate developer Jacob R Van Mater Lefferts, according to The Independent. He died in 1989 at the age of 76, his New York Times obituary said, adding, "Mr. Lefferts, a graduate of Columbia University, built several thousand homes in the late 1950's and 1960's in Monmouth County, especially in Middletown. He was an avid gardener and planned developments that retained existing trees and placed houses on winding streets, a departure from the grid patterns that were then the vogue."

You can see a map of the lake at Google Maps. FindLakes provides a map and a few details about the Lake Lefferts Dam. You can see some nice wildlife photos of the lake at May Lee's Art. The Borough of Matawan does a nice fireworks display over the lake for Independence Day.

I took some shots of the lake today from Ravine Drive's boat launch, which has a wooden hut with recreation equipment, a couple of piers, a boat launch, concrete walkways, park benches for enjoying the lake, as well as a bunch of canoes available for summer fun. Homes can be seen on the far side, and in the distance you can see the Buttonwood Manor restaurant.