A detailed engraving from the October 17, 1896 Scientific American depicting the New Croton Dam construction. According to Christopher Tompkins, author of The Croton Dams and Aqueduct, this image is "especially noteworthy for its accuracy in depicting the excavation."

New Croton Dam Construction, circa 1902 The Croton History website recently acquired a remarkable photographic collection documenting the New Croton Dam during its construction phase. Based on the visible completion stages of the structure, historians estimate these images were captured around 1902. The photographs feature a visitor identified as "Mr. John Fish," who appears in several shots tak…

Water Over the Dam (1900-1907) The New Croton Dam was constructed primarily by immigrant laborers, predominantly Italian workers alongside Irish, African American, and Scandinavian employees. These workers inhabited small communities near the construction site and boarding houses in Croton Landing. A settlement called the Bowery, or Little Italy, emerged approximately one mile from the dam along…

New Croton Dam, circa 1907 This post features a vintage postcard depicting the nearly-completed New Croton Dam, also known as the Cornell Dam, photographed around 1907. The dating is based on the postcard's "undivided back" format, which was standard from 1901 to 1907—a period when addresses could only be written on the reverse side. The publisher was William Terhune, based in Ossining on Hudson…

# New Croton Dam The New Croton Dam is a masonry gravity dam forming the New Croton Reservoir as part of the New York City water supply system. Located near Croton-on-Hudson, New York, approximately 22 miles north of NYC, the structure spans the Croton River. Key Specifications: - Height: 297 feet (91 m) - Base width: 266 feet (81 m) - Length: 2,188 feet (667 m) - Water capacity: up to 19 billio…

New Croton Dam Spillway This historical piece showcases a photograph of the nearly completed New Croton Dam's spillway, captured during construction before water typically flowed over it. The image comes from the George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection at the New-York Historical Society. The article highlights the immense scale of the structure, noting that it was "made entirely of hand-hewn …

New Croton Dam Site Map, 1892 This piece features a contract drawing for the New Croton Dam located at the Cornell Site, dated May 2, 1892. The map's most compelling aspect extends beyond the dam structure itself. Instead, the document reveals "buildings, bridges and roads behind the dam which were destroyed when the valley was flooded." The article presents a historical record of infrastructure…

A photograph from Scientific American dated February 5, 1898, documents the initial phase of New Croton Dam construction—redirecting the Croton River's natural flow to create the excavation site for the dam's foundation. The project commenced on September 20, 1892, with river diversion work. Engineers blasted a channel measuring 125 feet wide and approximately a quarter-mile long through solid ro…

The Ossining Historical Society Museum houses a remarkable photographic collection documenting the Old Croton Aqueduct. During a recent visit, curator Norm MacDonald shared newly acquired materials, including two rare photographs capturing blacksmiths at the New Croton Dam from September 1895. These images are particularly significant because "there's a real dearth of images of the workers, their…

Today marks a significant milestone for the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, celebrating 120 years since its official incorporation on February 12, 1898. According to the Manual of Westchester County published that same year, the incorporation process involved a special election where residents voted overwhelmingly in favor—74 votes supporting incorporation against only 21 opposing it. At the time of…

for half a century, until the dam collapse. At high tide, mer- chant schooners and sloops had transported wheat up-river to the Underhill mills and returned loaded with flour for the New York mar- ket. But in 1841, the Underhills gave up the milling business, citing the shortage of water power and the property damage caused by the dam collapse. ^° The transformation of northern Westchester County …

1835 1836 New York City Water Commission established John B. Jervis appointed Chief Engineer of Croton Aqueduct project Photography invented Old Croton Aqueduct completed (includes structures such as Old Ossining Weir, Archville Bridge, Murray Hill Reservoir, Yonkers Weir, West Burnside Avenue Bridge, Sing Sing Kill Bridge, Ventilators, Clendening Valley Crossing, Nepperhan/Saw Mill River Bridge) …

# Old Croton Aqueduct ## Background Manhattan faced severe water scarcity as the city expanded northward from Wall Street. The island's brackish rivers provided limited freshwater, which became increasingly contaminated by sewage and industrial effluent. Before the aqueduct's construction, residents relied on cisterns, wells, and springs that grew polluted as the population surged in the 19th ce…

distance of about three miles carrying away m its course, Quaker bridge, Holman 's mills, and the old piers of the old Croton bridge.... All the bridges below the dam were carried away, and above the dam. Pines Bridge, and we are informed Wood's Bridge also — leaving no crossing over the Croton from its mouth to Golden's bridge ....■^^ The newspaper account provides us with the local view of the i…

dam, an em- bankment of earth is filled in, extending 275 feet from the masonry at the base, and extending from the masonry with a slope of 1 foot in 5 on the top. The whole work about the dam possesses great interest, and though it be distant from the city and somewhat difficult of access, will not fail to please those who may take time to visit it. Just above the place where the dam is construct…