Croton Aqueduct State Park
During
the 1830s New York City was in dire need of a fresh
water supply to combat the steady rise of disease
and to fight numerous fires that often engulfed large
tracts of businesses and homes. After numerous proposals
and an abandoned plan two years into its production,
construction of an unprecedented magnitude began in
1837 under the expertise of John Bloomfield Jervis.
The proposed plan called for a 41 mile aqueduct and
dam to be built in order to run water from the Croton
River to New York City. Three to four thousand workers,
mostly Irish immigrants earning up to $1.00 per day,
completed the masonry marvel in just five years. In
1842 water flowed into above ground reservoirs located
at the present sites of the New York Public Library
and the Great Lawn of Central Park. Throngs of people
attended the formal celebration held on October 14th
and celebrated with “Croton cocktails” –
a mix of Croton water and lemonade.
This 19th century architectural achievement
cost New York City approximately 13 million dollars
and was believed able to provide New Yorkers with fresh
water for centuries to come. The population spiraled
upward at a dizzying rate, however, and the Croton Aqueduct,
which was capable of carrying 100 million gallons per
day, could no longer meet New York City’s needs
by the early 1880s. Construction of the New Croton Aqueduct
began in 1885 and water began to flow by 1890. Although
no longer the sole supplier of fresh water, the Old
Croton Aqueduct continued to provide water to New York
City until 1965.
In 1968, the New York State Office
of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation purchased
26.2 miles of the original 41 mile aqueduct from New
York City. Presently, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic
Park is a linear park which runs from Van Cortlandt
Park at the Bronx County/City of Yonkers border to the
Croton Dam in Cortlandt. In 1987 a section was reopened
to supply the Town of Ossining and in 1992 the Old Croton
Aqueduct was awarded National Historic Landmark Status.
The scenic path over the underground aqueduct winds
through urban centers and small communities. It passes
near numerous historic sites, preserves, a museum highlighting
the construction of the Aqueduct, and many homes. The
Aqueduct’s grassy ceiling provides abundant recreational
opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. While primarily
for walking and running, parts of the trail are suitable
for horseback riding, biking (except during “mud
season”), bird watching, snowshoeing, and cross
country skiing.
The appeal of the trail lies in the
great diversity of scenes it traverses. Thus, a walk
on the Aqueduct can take you not only through stretches
of leafy green space but also past backyards and local
parks, "Main Street" village centres, great
and small historic sites, trickling rivulets and grand
Hudson views. It is open to pedestrians, joggers, cyclists,
cross-country skiers and equestrians. Photographers,
bird watchers,naturalists and historians enjoy it as
well. Cyclists are requested to avoid the trail after
heavy rains and during the “mud season.”
The Croton Aqueduct is a masonry tunnel
that brought New York City its first supply of clean,
plentiful water, and thus contributed to its development
as a great metropolis. The Aqueduct was built in response
to the fires and epidemics that repeatedly devastated
New York City in the late 1700s and early 1800s, owing
in part to its inadequate water supply and contaminated
wells.
Construction began in 1837 and the
first Croton water entered the Aqueduct on June 22,
1842. The first chief engineer of the Aqueduct was succeeded
by John B. Jervis of Rome, New York. The Aqueduct carried
water 41 miles from the Old Croton Dam in Westchester
County, north of New York City, to two reservoirs in
Manhattan - on the present sites of the Great Lawn in
Central Park and the New York Public Library on Fifth
Avenue from where it was distributed.
Its capacity was soon exceeded by
the demands of a spiraling population growth to which
it actually contributed. Although the Croton Aqueduct
was in use until 1955, it was superseded by the New
Croton Aqueduct, triple the size, laid further inland,
and tunneled deep underground. The New Croton Aqueduct
was started in 1885 and went into service in 1890. It
currently supplies about ten percent of New York City's
water.
Now a National Historic Landmark, the Aqueduct is considered one of the great engineering
achievements of the 19th century. The tunnel is an elliptical
tube 8.5 feet high by 7.5 feet wide. It is brick-lined
and represents an early use of hydraulic cement for
most of its length. The outer walls are of hammered
stone.
Designed on principles dating from
Roman times, the tunnel is gravity fed for its entire
length, dropping gently 13 inches per mile. To maintain
this steady gradient through a varied terrain, its builders
had to cut the conduit into hillsides, set it level
on the ground, tunnel through rock, and carry it over
valleys and streams on massive stone and earth embankments
and across arched bridges. Typically, it is partly buried,
with a telltale mound encasing it.
Today, the Croton System supplies
less than fifteen percent of New York City's water,
but its reservoirs and tunnels also deliver water from
the Catskill and Delaware Systems. Yet, even with a
550 billion gallon water system, New York City is not
immune to drought.
For more than 150 years, the trail
atop the Old Croton Aqueduct has linked communities
and a wealth of historic sites along the lower Hudson
River. Locals will often say,"Let's go for a walk
along the Aqueduct," referring to the footpath
atop the masonry water tunnel. Both the trail and the
tunnel (also known as the "tube") comprise
the Old Croton Trailway State Historic Park. (Until
1999, the park was named Old Croton Trailway State Park.)
The park was created in 1968 and encompasses
the northernmost 26 miles of the Aqueduct and its right-of-way,
from Croton Gorge County Park to the Yonkers-New York
City line. It lies wholly within Westchester County.
It is under the jurisdiction of the Taconic Region of
the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation.
The appeal of the trail lies in the
great diversity of scenes it traverses. Thus, a walk
on the Aqueduct can take you not only through stretches
of leafy green space but also past backyards and local
parks, "Main Street" village centres, great
and small historic sites, trickling rivulets and grand
Hudson views. It is open to pedestrians, joggers, cyclists,
cross-country skiers and equestrians. Photographers,
bird watchers,naturalists and historians enjoy it as
well. Cyclists are requested to avoid the trail after
heavy rains and during the “mud season.”
Hours:
The park is open year round from sunrise to sunset.
Hourly visits to the Ossining weir chamber and aqueduct
tunnel are conducted early in June and October. Reservations
must be made two weeks in advance by contacting the
Site Manager. Group tours may also be arranged at other
times by appointment.
- Train - Use MetroNorth Railroad's
Hudson Line with service to & from Grand Central
terminal, in New York City. The Aqueduct trail is
within a half-mile walk uphill & eastward from
most of the stations.
- Auto - Parking is available in
municipal parking lots, MetroNorth parking lots (some
have free parking) and along many streets. Motorists
should obey local parking regulations.
- Bus - The trail is accessible
from several bus routes of the Westchester County
Beeline bus service - along Route 9/Broadway and other
major roads serving village centers.
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