guns The Lefever Arms Company (1883–1916) was a manufacturer of guns in Syracuse, New York, founded by Daniel Myron LeFever (1835–1906), an American gun maker popularly known as "Uncle Dan LeFever". He is best known as the inventor of the hammerless shotgun, first introduced in 1878. The company was in the business of gun manufacture until 1916, when it was incorporated into Ithaca Gun Company in Ithaca, New York which continued with the LeFever gun production until 1921. Although production of the LeFever Sidelock Model designed by Dan LeFever ended, the Ithaca gun company continued to use the LeFever name on Boxlock action double and single-barrel guns until 1941. Fall creek The original factory was located in the Fall Creek neighborhood of the city, on a slope later known as Gun Hill, where the nearby waterfall supplied the main source of energy for the plant. In later years, the company came under criticism regarding environmental pollution of Fall Creek, especially by lead, which led to a Superfund remediation effort. Various plans to demolish the derelict plant and to redevelop the land failed over the years due to the cost of remediation and community objection to construction proposals. The factory was condemned in March, 2006 and only the smokestack remains. An apartment project has been proposed for the site. Despite having moved 6000 tons of lead-contaminated material between 2002 and 2004, at a cost of $4.8 million, it was still necessary to perform even more clean up at the superfund site in 2015. Reorganization The company was controlled by the Smith family until 1967, when it was sold to a Colorado company, Jerry Baldritch & Asso., which later, after buying 10X Clothing, Atlantic Dinghy, and American Fiberglass, became General Recreation, Inc., and in 1971(approx.) made a public stock offering on the NYSE. General Recreation encountered financial problems in the late 1970s, selling off all its subsidiaries except Ithaca Gun. After a failed attempt to move manufacturing to Colorado, it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in December, 1978, shuttering the plant on December 20 for several months. General Recreation filed for bankruptcy a second time in September, 1985. In 1987, new owners Ithaca Acquisition, Inc., moved manufacturing to King Ferry, New York. In 2005, it received a $150,000 development loan from Cayuga County, and in May of that year moved to larger facilities in Auburn. After being unable to facilitate an operational