Croton Aqueduct

19th-century aqueduct serving New York City

For the current aqueduct which superseded this one, see New Croton Aqueduct.

United States historic place

Old Croton Aqueduct

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

New York State Register of Historic Places

The Croton Aqueduct at High Bridge in 1859

Location of Croton Aqueduct

Nearest city| New York City, New York
Built| 1837–1842
Architect| John B. Jervis; David Douglass; James Renwick Jr.
NRHP reference No.| 74001324
NYSRHP No.| 11912.000082
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| December 2, 1974[1]
Designated NHL| April 27, 1992[2]
Designated NYSRHP| June 23, 1980

The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity 41 miles (66 km) from the Croton River in Westchester County to reservoirs in Manhattan. It was built because local water resources had become polluted and inadequate for the growing population of the city. Although the aqueduct was largely superseded by the New Croton Aqueduct, which was built in 1890, the Old Croton Aqueduct remained in service until 1955.[3]

## Background

[edit]

The island of Manhattan, surrounded by brackish rivers, had a limited supply of freshwater available. It dwindled as the city grew rapidly after the American Revolutionary War, and freshwater sources became polluted by effluent. Before the aqueduct was constructed, residents of New York obtained water from cisterns, wells, natural springs, and other bodies of water. Rapid population growth in the 19th century and encroachment on these areas as Manhattan moved further north of Wall Street, led to the pollution of many local fresh water sources. Below Grand Street, a small number of well-off customers of the Manhattan Company had fresh water delivered to them, but that company was actually more focused on banking—it eventually became Chase Manhattan—and only paid as much attention to its water activities as it needed to avoid losing the state charter that allowed it to bank.[4] The poor and the rest of the city were forced to rely on well water, often made palatable by adding alcoholic spirits, prompting temperance campaigners to call for the municipal provision of water.

The unsanitary conditions caused an increase in disease. Epidemics of yellow fever ravaged the city. A polluted aquifer, overcrowded housing, the lack of sewers, public ignorance of basic sanitary conditions, and the existence of polluting industries near wells and residential areas contributed to an unprecedented mortality rate of 2.6% (1 death per 39 inhabitants) in 1830. Then in 1832 cholera first reached New York in the deadliest epidemic to that date. The need for a new supply of fresh water was crucial.

## Construction

[edit]

Double Arch over Sing Sing Kill, Ossining, from a 1907 postcard; upper arch carries the aqueduct, the lower one carries a local street

In March 1833, Major David Bates Douglass, engineering professor at West Point Military Academy, was appointed to survey and estimate the proposed route.[5]: 46 In 1837, construction began on a massive engineering project, to divert water from sources upstate, following a route surveyed by Douglass[6] and supervised by Douglass' successor, Chief Engineer John B. Jervis.[7] The Croton River was dammed, aqueducts were built, tunnels dug, piping laid, and reservoirs created.

The gravity-fed aqueduct dropped 13 inches per mile, 1/4" per 100' (~0.02%). An elliptical tube, 8.5 feet (2.6m) high by 7.5 feet (2.3m) wide, of iron piping encased in brick masonry was laid, sometimes in cuts, with conical ventilating towers every mile or so, to relieve pressure and keep the water fresh. Hydraulic cement was added where the aqueduct crossed rivers. It extended from the Old Croton Dam in northern Westchester County to the Harlem River, where it continued over the High Bridge at 173rd Street and down the West Side of Manhattan and finally into a Receiving Reservoir located between 79th and 86th streets and Sixth and Seventh Avenues; the site is now the Great Lawn and Turtle Pond in Central Park.[8] The Receiving Reservoir was a rectangular tank within fortress-like rusticated retaining walls, 1,826 feet (557 m) long and 836 feet (255 m) wide; it held up to 180 million US gallons (680,000 m3) of water. 35 million US gallons (130,000 m3) flowed into it daily from northern Westchester.

Profile and ground plan of the lower part of Croton Aqueduct

From the Receiving Reservoir, water flowed down to the Croton Distributing Reservoir, better known simply as the Croton Reservoir, a similar fortified tank located on Fifth Avenue between 40th Street and 42nd Street, where the New York Public Library Main Branch and Bryant Park are located today. This reservoir was built to resemble ancient Egyptian architecture. New Yorkers came uptown for the fine view of the city obtained from atop its walls.

The aqueduct opened to public use with great fanfare on October 14, 1842. The day-long celebration culminated in a fountain of water that spouted to a height of 50 feet (15 m) from the beautifully decorated cast iron Croton Fountain in City Hall Park.

Croton Distributing Reservoir (1842)

## Impact on the city

[edit]

Water started flowing through the aqueduct on June 22, 1842, taking 22 hours for gravity to take the water the 41 miles (66 km) (at a velocity of 1.86 miles per hour [2.99 km/h; 2.73 ft/s]) to reach Manhattan.[7] Even though only 6,175 houses had been connected to the system by 1844, the Croton water had already dramatically improved both domestic hygiene and interior design. Baths and running water were being built in the private homes of wealthy New Yorkers, and public bathing facilities were constructed for the masses. The water system had another inadvertent consequence. The decline in the number of residents drawing water from the city's wells resulted in a rise in the water table, which flooded many cellars. To address this problem, the city built sewers in many residential streets. By 1852, 148 miles (238 km) of sewers had already been constructed.

About this time the German cockroach attracted attention and was called the "Croton bug" in the mistaken belief that the aqueduct brought the insects into the homes being connected to the new water supply system.[9]

Despite its size, the capacity of the Old Croton Aqueduct could not keep up with the growth of New York City, and construction on a New Croton Aqueduct began in 1885 a few miles east. The new aqueduct, buried much deeper than the old one, went into service in 1890, with three times the capacity of the Old Croton Aqueduct. It currently supplies 10 percent of New York City's water. The Croton Receiving Reservoir continued to supply New York City with drinking water until 1940, when Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Robert Moses ordered it drained and filled to create the Great Lawn and Turtle Pond in Central Park. The old aqueduct remained in service until 1955. In 1987 the northernmost portion was reopened to provide water to Ossining.[10]

## Reused portions

[edit]

### Old Croton Trail

[edit]

Old Croton Trail

Length| 26.2 mi (42.2 km)
Location| Westchester County, New York, U.S.
Trailheads| Van Cortlandt Park, New York
Croton Gorge Park, New York
Use| Hiking, Biking, Jogging
Difficulty| Easy
Season| Year round
Sights| Lyndhurst
Hazards| Poison ivy, falling off sides due to steep cliffs, large number of people, slow bikers and walkers impeding faster bikers and runners' ability to pass, people not paying attention.

The Old Croton Trail extends for 26.2 miles (42.2 km) in Westchester County, providing public access along all but four segments -- in the Getty Square neighborhood of downtown Yonkers, Tarrytown, Scarborough and Ossining -- along the route of the aqueduct. It crosses the lawn of Lyndhurst, following the aqueduct's easement. The trail enters New York City on the eastern side of Van Cortlandt Park[7] and runs through the Bronx alongside Aqueduct Avenue, and the trail continues under the southern part of University Avenue.

1887 engraving from Scientific American shows Old Croton Aqueduct in dotted line looking south from Putnam County. Croton Reservoir in foreground; Manhattan in far background.

Both the trail and the tunnel are part of the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park,[11] which was created in 1968 and encompasses the northernmost 26 miles (42 km) of the aqueduct and its right-of-way, from Croton Gorge Park to the Yonkers-New York City line. It lies wholly within Westchester County but is under the jurisdiction of the Taconic Region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.[12]

The trail runs roughly parallel to Metro North's Hudson Line from northern Yonkers to Scarborough and is accessible from numerous stations on that line. The trail briefly parallels the Rockefeller State Park Preserve and its trails. Access to the trail is easiest where it crosses Route 9, known variously as Albany Post Road, Broadway, or Highland Avenue.

Heading southbound into downtown Yonkers, the trail goes on-street at Bishop William J. Walls Place and N. Broadway, where it follows the sidewalk on N. Broadway for one block, and then makes a left onto Ashburton Avenue going east. At Palisades Avenue, it makes a right and the trail bed restarts.

Remnants of the aqueduct still exist and can be seen along the trail, including 21 stone ventilators, three stone weirs (chambers which were used to empty the aqueduct for maintenance), and one "Keeper's House" located in Dobbs Ferry.[13] The Keeper's House in Dobbs Ferry was built in 1857 and is the only remaining of four Keeper's Houses that is both on the aqueduct and open to the public. The only other remaining Keeper's House is located in Ossining, but it was moved off the aqueduct, is privately owned, and is not open to visitors.[14] A portion of the Old Croton Aqueduct, running from the Croton River to Manhattan, was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1992.[2][15] The Croton Water Supply System was also designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1975.[16]

The interior of the Old Croton Aqueduct has been documented by explorers including Miru Kim and historian Steve Duncan.[17]

### Aqueduct Walk

[edit]

Main article: Aqueduct Walk

Aqueduct Walk is a community park in the Bronx, New York City, running between Kingsbridge Road and Tremont Avenue.[18] Aqueduct Walk is designated as an official New York City scenic landmark.[19][20]

## Gallery

[edit]

* "Shutting off the Croton", from Harper's Weekly (November 12, 1881)

* A weir in Sleepy Hollow. The weir chambers were used to empty the aqueduct for maintenance by diverting the waters to a nearby waterway. The line could be emptied in two hours.[21]

* Croton Walk, south of Kingsbridge Road, Bronx

* 119th Street gatehouse, Manhattan

* 1857 Keeper's House in Dobbs Ferry; open to the public.

* Inside the Old Croton Aqueduct at the weir in Ossining

* A section of aqueduct inside a viaduct with hydraulic cement lining

* A section of aqueduct with brick walls and exposed ceiling

* A gate at Ossining Weir to close the aqueduct off for maintenance

* A valve at Ossining Weir to redirect water out of the aqueduct

* Ventilator No. 16, Irvington, New York (May 2005)

* 135th St Croton Aqueduct Gatehouse in New York City is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

## See also

[edit]

* Croton Aqueduct Gate House
* List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
* National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York
* National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Westchester County, New York
* New York City water supply system

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. ^ a b "Croton Aqueduct (Old)". National Park Service. National Historic Landmark summary listing. September 17, 2007. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014.
3. ^ Rennenkampf, Lenore (November 1973). National Register of Historic Places nomination, Old Croton Aqueduct. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, 1964 - 2013. U.S. National Archives. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
4. ^ Burrows, Edwin G. and Wallace, Mike (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-195-11634-8. pp. 360, 362, 589
5. ^ "Van Cortlandt Park, Borough of the Bronx: Restoration Master Plan" (PDF). New York City Parks Department, Storch Associates. 1986. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
6. ^ A Trail through History (Old Croton Aqueduct Staste Park brochure).
7. ^ a b c "Old Croton Aqueduct Trail". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
8. ^ "Great Lawn". Central Park Conservancy. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
9. ^ Cockroach insect information & pictures. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
10. ^ "An Engineering Marvel". Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct. January 15, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
11. ^ "Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
12. ^ "History of the Aqueduct Trail". Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
13. ^ "Old Croton Aqueduct Trail Map" (PDF). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
14. ^ "DEP Donates Century-Old Valve Actuator from New Croton Dam for Permanent Display at Education Center". New York City Department of Environmental Protection. December 9, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
15. ^ Lange, Robie S. (October 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Croton Aqueduct". National Park Service. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help) and Accompanying 20 photos and drawings, from 1978 and 1843. (6.95 MB)
16. ^ "Croton Water Supply System". ASCE Metropolitan Section. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
17. ^ Gibberd, Ben (July 29, 2009). "Children of Darkness". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
18. ^ "Aqueduct Walk Highlights: NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
19. ^ Moloney, Síle (April 19, 2024). "LPC Designates Aqueduct Walk as Bronx's First Scenic Landmark in Unanimous Vote". Norwood News - Serving Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
20. ^ "Landmarks Designates the Old Croton Aqueduct Walk as the Bronx's First Scenic Landmark". CityLand. April 17, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
21. ^ Descriptive display at the weir chamber in Ossining, New York in the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park. Accessed: September 6, 2010

## References

[edit]

* Chazin, Daniel D., ed. (2005). New York Walk Book (7th ed.). New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. ISBN 978-1-880775-30-1.
* Koeppel, Gerard T. (2000). Water for Gotham: A History. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01139-7.
* Rappole, George H. (1978). "The Old Croton Aqueduct". IA, The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology. Vol. 4, no. 1\. pp. 15–25. JSTOR 40967954.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croton Aqueduct.

* NYC GOV Water System History
* NYC GOV New York City's Water Story [1] Archived 2018-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
* "How a Massive Public Works Project Saved a Parched New York," by SAM ROBERTS, New York Times, December 4, 2017
* Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park
* Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct
* NYC Segment according to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
* ASCE History and Heritage of Civil Engineering - Croton Water Supply System
* "Croton Aqueduct" in 1902 Encyclopedia
* "The New Croton Aqueduct New York" Scientific American (1890-07-12)
* John B. Jervis Drawings Collection of the Jervis Public Library on New York Heritage Digital Collections
* Account of the New York Guard protection of the aqueduct in World War I Archived November 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation

* HAER No. NY-120, "Old Croton Aqueduct, New York, New York County, NY", 53 photos, 1 measured drawing, 185 data pages, 7 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-119, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Harlem River Crossing, Spanning Harlem River, Bronx, Bronx County, NY", 13 photos, 2 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-117, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Quarry Railroad Bridge, Aqueduct Lane at Williams Street, Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, NY", 3 photos, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-110, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Sing Sing Kill Bridge, Spanning Aqueduct Street & Broadway, Ossining, Westchester County, NY", 18 photos, 4 measured drawings, 2 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-112, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Mill River Culvert, U.S. Route 9 at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, Westchester County, NY", 7 photos, 1 color transparency, 3 measured drawings, 3 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-113, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Mill River Waste Weir, U.S. Route 9 at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, Westchester County, NY", 5 photos, 3 measured drawings, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-114, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Jewels Brook Culvert, Spanning Station Road, Irvington, Westchester County, NY", 8 photos, 4 measured drawings, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-115, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Overseer's House, Walnut Street, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, NY", 2 measured drawings
* HAER No. NY-116, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Maintenance Building, Walnut Street, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, NY", 1 measured drawing
* HAER No. NY-118, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Saw Mill River Culvert, Spanning Nepperhan Avenue, Yonkers, Westchester County, NY", 19 photos, 3 measured drawings, 5 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-207, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Ventilator No. 10, North of Scarborough Road, Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County, NY", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-208, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Ventilator No. 18, South of Main Street, Irvington, Westchester County, NY", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-111, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Ventilator No. 9, Spring & Everett Streets, Ossining, Westchester County, NY", 1 photo, 1 color transparency, 1 measured drawing, 3 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
* HAER No. NY-109, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Northern Waste Weir, Snowden Avenue & Van Wick Street, Ossining, Westchester County, NY", 4 photos, 2 measured drawings, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-108, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Indian Creek Culvert, Reservoir & Quaker Bridge Roads, Crotonville, Ossining, Westchester County, NY", 5 photos, 3 measured drawings, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-107, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Entrance Entablature, New Croton Reservoir, Yorktown Heights, Westchester County, NY", 1 photo, 1 measured drawing, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
* HAER No. NY-132, "New Croton Dam & Reservoir, Croton River, Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, NY", 22 photos, 7 color transparencies, 3 data pages, 3 photo caption pages

Articles and topics related to Croton Aqueduct

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New York City's water supply system

Croton reservoirs|

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* Santanoni Preserve
* wilderness areas
* Catskill Park
* Hudson River Estuary
* Long Island Pine Barrens
* Reinstein Woods
* Rome Sand Plains
* Tahawus
* Vischer Ferry
* Welwyn

|

The Nature
Conservacy|

* Accabonac Harbor
* Andy Warhol Visual Arts
* Arthur W. Butler Memorial
* Atlantic Double Dunes
* Bear Swamp
* Calverton Ponds
* Chaumont Barrens
* Clintonville Pine Barrens
* Coon Mountain
* Deer Lick
* Denton
* El Dorado Beach
* Eugene and Agnes Meyer
* Everton Falls
* Freund
* Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens
* Hannacroix Ravine
* Henry Morgenthau
* Indian Brook Assemblage
* Ironsides Island
* Kenrose
* Limestone Rise
* Lisha Kill
* Long Island Center for Conservation
* Long Pond
* Lordsland
* Lower Poultney River and Saddles
* Marrion Yarrow
* Mashomack
* Mianus River Gorge
* Mildred E. Grierson Memorial
* Moccasin Kill
* Montauk Mountain
* Moss Lake
* Mount Holly
* Nellie Hill
* Neversink
* O.D. von Engeln
* Otter Creek
* Pawling
* Peconic Estuary Big Woods
* Pine Neck
* Roger Perry Memorial
* Ruth Wales
* Schunemunk Mountain
* Shadmoor
* Silver Lake Bog
* Spring Pond Bog
* Stewart
* Lewis A. Swyer
* Thompson Pond and Stissing Mountain
* Uplands Farm
* West Branch
* Whitbeck Memorial Grove

Other
preserves|

* Angle Fly
* Baxter
* Bergen-Byron Swamp
* Black Rock Forest
* Brandreth Park
* Cornell Botanic Gardens
* Ferncliff Forest
* Great Camp Sagamore
* James
* Lime Hollow
* Louis Calder Center
* Louis C. Clark Sanctuary
* Mohonk
* Peabody
* Plotter Kill
* Sam's Point
* Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest
* Teatown Lake Reservation
* Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center
* Turkey Mountain
* Turner Brook
* Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
* Woodlawn
* Zurich Bog

Other (lists)

* National Historic Landmarks
* National Natural Landmarks
* Botanical gardens and arboretums
* Nature centers
* New York City parks
* POPS
* WWI
* New York state
* forests
* wild
* historic sites
* parks
* wildlife management areas
* Trails
* rail trails

* Category
* Erie County
* Nassau County
* New York City
* NYS DEC
* NYS OPRHP
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Hiking trails in New York

* Appalachian
* Blue Disc
* Croton Aqueduct
* Devil's Path
* East Coast Greenway
* Eastern Continental
* Finger Lakes
* Ithaca
* Kaaterskill Falls
* Long Island
* Long Path
* Mohawk Hudson
* North Country
* Old Croton
* Paumanok Path
* South Taconic
* Taconic Crest
* Taconic Skyline
* Taconic
* Tongue Mountain Range

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