Apparently, the community of Jefferson has some lake-front properties tucked away somewhere within the city limits. One must assume that these locations are being kept secret from the general public, as a casual trip around town will not uncover their whereabouts.
According to the US Census Bureau, Jefferson occupies 5.9 square miles of land, of which 1% is water!
We here at Jefferson Iowa News are searching desperately for this body of water within Jefferson's city limits. As a point of reference, compare this amazing statistic to the amount of water found within these other well-known Iowa communities:
Spirit Lake (Dickinson County) ...... 0% water
Lake City (Calhoun County) ...... 0% water
Storm Lake (Buena Vista County) ...... 0% water
Lake Park (Dickinson County) ...... 0% water
Lake Mills (Winnebago County) ...... 0% water
Wall Lake (Sac County) ...... 0% water
Okoboji (Dickinson County) ...... 0% water
One
must wonder how in the world Jefferson straddles more water than these
communities, all known for their water-front recreational areas. In our quest to determine the location of this water, we found a municipal pool, a handful of privately-owned pools, a leaky water main, and a small, flooded area just south of town, caused by excessive rainfall. There appear to be no ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, creeks, or other natural sources for this water.
Based on the nearly six square miles Jefferson occupies, it would seem that over 1,000 square yards of the community is standing water. That would be enough water to inundate the downtown square!
Keep in mind, this is the same census bureau that insists that Jefferson's population has remained at over 4,000 people since the early 60's!
Once this property is located, we would expect that nearby property values would spike accordingly.
Spencer Straight, 01-08-2009