The Croton Dams and Aqueduct (Images of America: New York) [Paperback]

Christopher R. Tompkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2000

This collection of rare photographs chronicles the construction of one of the largest masonry dams ever built. From the beginnings of the first Croton Dam, completed in 1842, and of the new dam, which was finished in 1907, up to the present day, The Croton Dams and Aqueduct provides a stunning portrait of the entire project and the region that it impacted: New York City and Westchester County. As early as the 1770s, New York considered creating waterworks and even proposed damming area rivers, including the Hudson. With disease and fires blamed on the lack of water, plans were created c. 1830 to dam the Croton River. By 1842, water from the first dam flowed into New York City from Yorktown. Built to provide enough water for "centuries," the first dam was obsolete by the 1880s. Exponential growth from immigration created the demand for more water, and New York built the New Croton Dam. The new dam not only provided clean water for New York's burgeoning population but also spawned a new community of immigrant workers in the once Anglo community of Westchester County.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Tompkins was raised in Yorktown, where his ancestors had settled along the banks of the Croton River in the 1750s. His family lost their farms to floodwaters when the first Croton Dam broke in 1841 and again when the Croton rose behind the new dam in 1907. His grandfather was employed by the City of New York for over 40 years as superintendent of the Croton Reservoir. Tompkins holds a bachelor's degree in history and government from Colby College and a master's degree in social science from Syracuse University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (November 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738504556
• ISBN-13: 978-0738504551
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,351,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The origins of the Croton Watershed, March 5, 2001

By 

Paul Moskowitz (Yorktown, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Croton Dams and Aqueduct (Images of America: New York) (Paperback)

"The Croton Dams and Aqueduct" is a pictorial history of the construction of the New Croton Dam and the creation of the New Croton Reservoir at the end of the nineteenth century. Today the Croton system contributes more than ten percent (typically 100 to 150 million gallons per day) to the water supply of 9 million people. The quality of Croton water is as good today as it was at the beginning of the twentieth century. It meets all federal health standards. Despite this, New York City intends to build a $1 billion filtration plant (to filter water that does not need to be filtered). The consequence of the filtration plant scheme will be the abandonment of protection of the Croton Watershed. Many of today's watershed residents appreciate the reservoir system that lends so much to the beauty of the area, but also see New York City as a distant imperial power whose officials often have little regard for the integrity of the watershed.

The conflict between Croton Watershed residents and New York City is not new. The book offers glimpses into life one hundred years ago at the time of the construction of the dam. Homes, farmland and roads were flooded. Much of the Huntersville settlement was inundated. Some houses were moved uphill above the new water line. Even the dead were disturbed. Tompkins reports that the Water Commissioners, the predecessors to today's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), contracted to have the remains moved. However, according to Tomkins, local lore has it that "only the stones were moved". That local lore persists.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dam useful, dam beautiful !, February 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Croton Dams and Aqueduct (Images of America: New York) (Paperback)

At 128 pages, with a photo or drawing on every page, and two on some, this book might seem slight on text. Far from it! The author relates and explains the history of the consecutive dams and of the aqueduct that supplies Croton River water to New York City.

Those who have seen the present dam, presumably many millions, must have been impressed, as I was, by its handsome, curving, mass, its picturesque formidability. How pleasant and instructive, then, to follow step-by-step its construction and to see the faces of those who did the hard work! Christopher Tompkins sets scenes, too, that the imagination can supplement: "This photo shows the Bowery at Croton Dam, whose name had become a place-name, with cheap rooming houses, bordellos, saloons, and plenty of crime. Italian and Irish immigrants called the Bowery home and enjoyed its many vices but lived in separate areas."

Just as the new dam took long to build, (1892-1906), the book takes some time to read because it is packed with detail. But it rewards repeated visits, to absorb the intricacy of the building and the "many tempestuous episodes" involving the Croton River and man's efforts to control it. Art and nature happily blended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Known Jewel, December 27, 2008

By 

Peter Dispensa (Nyack, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Croton Dams and Aqueduct (Images of America: New York) (Paperback)

This book gives an excellent overview of one of New York City's engineering marvels. It portrays the beauty of a municipal water system created in the mid-1800s to stop disease and the devastating fires that spread rampantly throughout NYC as well as provide clean and wholesome water to each and every one of New York's citizens. This book is a great prelude to the array of other books related to this subject matter and will definitely spark one's interest when read.