The reservoir originally provided water for Jefferson Village, and served its purpose for a long time before it was closed. A recent engineering study of the Lampson Reservoir showed that it's dam needs reconstructive work (it needs repairs), but isn't quite so bad as originally thought.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that, when repairs are being made, the fishing is going to be terrible; but the reservoir has been posted with a "No Trespassing" sign for many years, so folks shouldn't get too upset with the inconvenience.
The reservoir itself takes up about twenty-two acres of the one-hundred-and-nine acre parkland that is proposed there. That's right. . . . "proposed." It isn't a park yet. But the Lampson Reservoir is closer than ever to being part of the Ashtabula County Metroparks system. It's a real jewel that has picnicking areas and almost ready-made trails that most parks systems will envy.
And the Mill Creek that bounds the area on north and west, feeding into the Grand River, offers recreational fishing both above and below the old dam across the Mill Creek itself. A bonus is upstream a half-mile or so where the Mill Creek meanders leisurely under the Doyle Road Covered Bridge.
Lampson Reservoir information is from the Ashtabula County Metroparks website.