[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Edward Wegmann (published in 1896), in which all the details of the earlier makeshift systems and schemes, and of the construction of both the old and the new aqueducts and the Bronx River conduit, with their associated dams, reservoirs, and other works in this county, Putnam, and New York City, are described.1 We shall briefly summarize this history, so far as its particulars are apropos to our narrative, down to the period of the completion of the first aqueduct, reserving notice of the later works for the proper chronological sequence. It is of interest that in July, 1774, a proposal made by Christopher Colics to erect a reservoir, pump water into it from wells, and con-vey the water through the several streets of the city in pipes, Avas adopted by the authorities of New York; ami that land for the pur-pose of a reservoir on Great George Street, owned by Augustus Van Cortlandt and Erederick Van Cortlandt, of the Van Cortlandt fam-ily of our county, was purchased and works were built and put in operation. The Revolutionary War interfered with the development 1 Another work of great authority (exelu-(1843). Most of the particulars of the first sivcly, however, on the old aqueduct anil ante-aqueduct in our text arc digested from Mr. cedent conditions) is the " Memoir, etc., of (he King's " Memoir." Croton Aqueduct," compiled by Charles King GENERAL COUNTY HISTORY TO 1842 549 of the plans thus inaugurated.