According to the Comprehensive Plan of the Village of Jeffersonville, the buildings constructed within the Village over the years reflect some outstanding and unique forms of architecture. Victorian themes prevail and an excellent example of this is the two-story porched inn with the mansard roof on Maple Avenue. It reflects the Second Empire period of 1855-1885 and is superbly maintained. Another is the Queen Anne Victorian (1880-1910) Griffin House Bed and Breakfast, also on Maple Avenue.
The Village contains a number of interesting and well-maintained structures including a nice example of Italianate (1840-1885) architecture with Victorian influences at the corner of Maple Avenue and Chapel Street. (Shepstone Management Co. 1997).
In addition to the residential construction projects, two large commercial projects took place in Jeffersonville in its early years, namely, the Lake Jeff Dam and the new Central School District. The first project was the dam and was built in 1937, is 240 ft. long, 18″ thick and 30 ft. high at the spillway. Today, the dam is used for hydroelectric power. Malcolm and Ann Brown have worked tirelessly to make this a possibility. The hydroelectric plant is located at the base of the dam and its power is used to run the nearby Public Radio Station of WJFF, which was founded by the Browns.
The second project of the new Central School District held its first classes in 1939. The last class to graduate from the Jeff School, located near the Lions Field, was the class of 1938. The new school, overlooking the Village, was modeled after the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was constructed at a total cost of $417,500. The school is still in use today and in 1988, was even listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1968 an addition was built onto the Jeffersonville-Youngsville Central School. The school was again enlarged in 1994. Voters from Narrowsburg, Callicoon and Jeffersonville approved a school district merger in 1999. A new high school will be built in Lake Huntington. The current Jeff School will house grades K-8 once the new high school is completed. The village¹s libraries also merged.
Jeffersonville has a wonderful volunteer fire department and ambulance corps that has given this community many years of dedicated service. Many local families are active in community groups such as Jeffersonville¹s boy and girl scouts, youth sports teams, Lions Club, Masons, Eastern Stars, Veterans and other worthy organizations.
The Village Houses of Worship include The First Presbyterian Church formed in 1842, Saint George’s Roman Catholic Church formed in 1843, The Lutheran Church started as the Reform Church in 1852, the Methodist Church and the Congregation Ahavath Shalom.
