The Old Croton Aqueduct Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs The Hudson River Museum of Westchester The Old Croton Aqueduct figure 1: Section of the Aqueduct with Iron Lining, c. 1837-39. ink and watercolor on paper Courtesy Jervis Public Library, drawing #205. Photo G. R. Farley The Hudson River Museum of Westchester 511 Warburton Avenue Yonkers, NY 10701 914-9634550 The Old Croton Aqueduct: Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs Copyright © 1992 The Hudson River Museum of Westchester Inc. All rights reserved Published to coincide with the exhibition at The Hudson River Museunn of Westchester, October 2, 1992 through February 7, 1993. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-62429 ISBN 0-943651-25-5 This publication, as well as the accompanying exhibition at The Hudson River Museunn, public programs, video, and a satellite exhibition, has been made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding for the public programs was provided by the New York State Council for the Humanities. The Museum's general operations are supported In part by Westchester County, the City of Yonkers, the Yonkers Board of Education, the New York State Council on the Arts and the Westchester Delegations of the New York State Senate and Assembly. Designed by the 2^' Group Printed by The Printmore Press On the cover: David Johnson, High Bridge, c.1860, oil on paper Courtesy Dana and Jeffrey Cooley Elevation of A High Bridge for Crossing Hariaem [sic] River, c. 1839-40 watercolor and Ink on paper Courtesy Jervis Public Library, Rome, NY. Photo: G.R. Farley The Old Croton aqueduct Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs The Hudson River Museum of Westchester Yonkers, New York 1992 Xhi s One 7WXT-: 5F-QFG4 figure 2: Fayette B. Tower, View above the Dam, in Illustrations of the Croton Aqueduct, 1843, engraved by William James Bennett Courtesy The Historical Society of the Tarrytowns (different version in exhibition). Photo: J. Kennedy Contents 6 Foreword Philip Verre, Director 9 Water for the City Jeffrey A. Kroessler 1 7 Preliminary Pians for tlie Oid Croton Aqueduct and the Stnietura of Its Engineering Department F. Daniel Larkin 25 Tlie Engineering Design and Hydraulic Concepts for tlie Croton Aqueduct Emory Kemp 33 Temperament, Temperance and Tolerance: An Appraisal of Conflicts over Land Values and Laborers Along the Line of the Croton Aqueduct Tema Harnik 4 1 The Croton Aqueduct and the Suburbanization of Westchester Roger Panetta 49 Celebrating the Aqueduct: Pastoral and Urban Ideals Laura Vookles Hardin 57 Selected Bibliography List of Lenders 58 Checklist of the Exhibition 64 Staff and Board of Trustees of The Hudson River Museum of Westchester Foreword The exhibit and accompanying publication commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Old Croton Aqueduct bring to life the rich and complex story involving one of the great public works projects of its time. The need to supply New York City with clean water, the technical challenge of meeting this demand and the human drama of both the communities and Individuals involved are interwoven into an engaging narrative which not only tells much about local his- tory here, in Westchester County, but also reflects on a growing region and nation during the middle part of the 19th century. And although the Aqueduct is no longer operational and its most visible presence is that of a nature path traversing 13 County municipali- ties, its role in defining both Westchester and New York City are considerable and enduring. The tremendous effort in organizing and implementing such a project required much time and participation by many individuals; all are to be congratulated for bringing the story of the Aqueduct to its successful realization. First and foremost, let me acknowledge the leading role and guiding spirit provided by the exhibit's co-cura- tors Laura Vookles Hardin, the Museum's Curator of Collections, and Tema Harnik, Administrative Director of the Lower Hudson Conference. Both have worked long and tirelessly in locating key loans, preparing catalogue essays and assembling a support team of multi-disciplinary professionals who have assisted the project through participating in a scholars symposium and/or contributing essays to the catalogue. These include Dr. Emory Kemp, Professor of History and Preservation of Engineering Works at West Virginia University; Dr. Jeffrey A. Kroessler, School of General Studies, Adelphi University, and History Department, Queens College, CUNY; Dr. F. Daniel Larkin, Professor of History and Chairman of the Histo- ry Department at SUNY Oneonta; and Roger Panetta, Professor of History at Marymount College. Daniel Walkowitz, Professor of Urban and Labor History in New York State and Director of Metropolitan Studies Program, New York University, served as editor. Others who participated in the symposium include Judy Brewton; William Lee Frost; Kenneth Lutters, Senior Landscape Architect, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preserva- tion; and Carl Oeschner, Educator, Ossining. Rusty