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 was not only the result of a dam collapse but was inherent in the creation of a reservoir and watershed for the Croton Aqueduct (figure 2). The reservoir, created by the dam was called Croton Lake, covered about 400 acres, and extended for 5 miles into the towns of New Castle, Bedford, and Somers where farms, family residences, and 46 businesses had to be relocated. Future plans for the construction of new dams and reservoirs would trigger new battles over old issues during the last half of the 19th century. But the pressure on Westchester water resources did not abate either. Demand for water from New York City outdistanced their ear- lier projected needs and within two decades the City again found itself in a water crisis. While there was some waste, the in- creased demand came from a higher standard of living in part caused by bath tubs, shower baths, and water closets. In 1858 in response to this new demand, the City commissioned a topo- graphical map of the entire watershed, including recommended sites for additional reservoirs and dams in Westchester and Putnam Counties-'^ (figure 42). The topographical map was a mas- ter plan for appropriating more water and land and, as a result, for the next 70 years, local residents faced condemnation proceedings and a replaying of the original debate of 1834-41.^" In the second half of the 19th century, while New York City's population and water needs surged, reservoirs were developed at Boyd's Corner in Putnam, the Middle and West Branches of the Croton, the Muscoot River in Westchester and Putnam, and at a series of ponds and lakes in the surrounding areas. This expansion culminated in the construction of the New Croton Aqueduct in 1891, which involved not only the usual condemnations but de- struction of the original village of Katonah (figure 43). In sum, the old Croton Aqueduct had initiated a process which subordinated the needs of Westchester County to those of New York City and inadvertently checked its economic development as well. Not surprisingly, the Croton Aqueduct undercut the economic independence of Westchester County doing so within the same decade that the railroad fixed the County's dependent character as a residential suburb of New York City. Ironically the key player in this dual process of suburbanization was John B. Jervis who served as the Chief Engineer of the Croton Aqueduct and Supervisor for the Hudson River Railroad. The Aqueduct transformed northern Westchester, shifting popu- lation from the north of the County to the south in the 1840s^^ (fig- ure 39). At the same time, the transportation revolution brought the New York and Harlem Railroad to White Plains in 1844 and the New York Central and Hudson to the river towns of Westchester in 1851. The coming of the railroad to Westchester accelerated the process initiated by the Croton Aqueduct, and together they trans- formed the County from a self-sustaining economic region to a dependent suburb of New York City.^^ figure 42. left: Topographical Map Showing the Entire Watershed of Croton River above the Croton Aqueduct Dam. 1858. hand-colored lithograph Courtesy Jervis Public Library, drawing #148. Photo: G. R. Farley figure 43. above: New Croton Dam under Construction, c.1890, photograph Courtesy Ossining Historical Society Museum, 58.99.65 (not in exhibition) Photo: J. Kennedy Panetta Notes 1. Two basic works share this urban perspective. Nelson Blake, in Vi\ucrfor Ci[ies: A History of the I'rhau Water Supply Problem in the L'nited States (Syracuse; Syracuse University Press, 1956), deals with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. Charles Wegmann and Charles H. Weidner, in Water for A City: A History of New York's Problem from the Beginning to the Delaware River System (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1974), extend the story into the 20th century with a focus on New York City. Weidner's family had tieen displaced by the Catskill Aqueduct and, as a result, his work, though it still remains urbarvcentered, shows more concern for these kinds of issues. 2. Edward Wegmann's The Water Supply of The CityofNeu York IbiH^lSVf (New York: John Wiley, 1896) underscores the sense of urgency about the City's quest for water. Wegmann was a member of the engineering staff responsible for devel- oping New York's water supply and wrote several books on dams and waterworks. 3. Wegmann, pp. 6-7: Weidner, p. 18. 4. Wegmann. pp.13-14; Weidner, p. 24; Blake, p. 110.