The Old Croton Aqueduct

The Old Croton Aqueduct. . , The Old Croton Aqueduct is a brick and stone conduit, built between 1837 and 1842, to carry water from the Croton River into New York City. Since it is a gravity flow system, a gradual decline had to be maintained throughout the Aqueduct's forty-one mile length., The Aqueduct's major features in Westchester County included the Old Croton Dam and the Sing Sing Kill Bridge (double arches) and Weir Chamber in Ossining. The main structures in New York City were the High Bridge over the Harlem River, a large embankment crossing the Glendinning Valley (at 98th, 99th, and 100th Streets), the Receiving Reservoir (in Central Park) and the Distributing Reservoir (now the site of the New York Public Library). None of the Aqueduct's features remain in Manhattan. The Old Croton Aqueduct continued to serve New York City until 1995 and Westchester communities until 1965. Part of Ossining's water needs are served today by a section of the Aqueduct., Today, the Old Croton Dam is gone, flooded by the waters impounded by the New Croton Dam. The Sing Sing Kill Bridge and Weir Chamber are still accessible here in Ossining, the overseer's house still stands in Dobbs Ferry, and High Bridge still spans the Harlem River. The Old Croton Aqueduct from the Old Croton Dam to Yonkers (26.2 miles) was acquired by the State in 1968 and designated as a State Park. Today much of it is accessible as a walking, cycling and equestrian trail. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior in 1992 and also selected as part of the Hudson River Greenway., An exhibit on the Old Croton Aqueduct including a full-scale reproduction of a section of the conduit is located at the Ossining Visitor Center adjoining this site.