Clean, Sweet, Abundant Water!

This article features an excerpt from Maria Lydia Child's Letters from New-York, celebrating the opening of the Croton Aqueduct in October 1842. Child eloquently describes New Yorkers' joy at accessing clean water.

Child expresses wonder at the magnificent fountains. The central fountain in the park could "throw the column sixty feet into the air, and drops it into the basin in a shower of diamonds." The fountain featured various formations including "The Maid of the Mist, the Croton Plume, the Vase, the Dome, the Bouquet, the Sheaf of Wheat, and the Weeping-willow."

She describes Union Park's smaller fountain as "a weeping willow of crystal drops; but one can see that it weeps for joy." During evening celebrations, colored fireworks illuminated the fountains.