USA > New York > New York City > The Memorial History of the City of New York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892, Volume III > Part 43
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All the water used in the city was, and had always been, drawn from the island itself. The earliest projected reservoir was to have been placed on Broadway, between Pearl and White streets, on lands pur- chased from the Van Cortlandts in 1774; but the Revolutionary struggle prevented its construction. For a number of years after the Revolution, various plans for increasing the city's supply were suggested, but no unanimity of opinion seems to have prevailed, ex- cept upon the one theme of the impropriety of granting any exclusive water franchise to individuals or private companies. Even in those early days the purity of the water from the Collect and the city's wells was questioned by eminent physicians, many of whom thought that the Bronx River would be a more wholesome source of supply than springs beneath the sands of the city, into which all manner of impurities percolated. The objection to private water franchises seems shortly to have vanished, for in 1799 Burr obtained from the legislature the charter of the Manhattan Company. This company was incorporated ostensibly to furnish water, but in reality to do a banking business. The only banks previously chartered were controlled by Federal- ists' capital, and Burr's friends, who were largely Republican (i. e., Democratic), could never have obtained a banking franchise from their political enemies had their designs been plainly announced. Under a clause shrewdly incorporated in its charter, permitting it to use its surplus capital in any enterprise not inconsis- tent with the laws of the State or of the Union, the Manhattan Com- pany obtained full warrant for engaging in banking. But for many years it actually furnished the city's chief water supply, pumping its waters from the Collect,1 or from its well at Cross and Duane streets, into hollow log pipes distributed underground through the lower portions of the town. The monopoly enjoyed by this company was not seriously disputed until after the close of the second war with England, when, with the extension of the city and the increase of its population, several new water companies were organized. The pro- moters of these incorporations were fertile in schemes: they had plans for obtaining water from the Rye Ponds, from the Housatonic River by an open canal, from Sharon, Connecticut, by the same means, and from artesian wells, which it was proposed to bore at dif- ferent places in the city. Public sentiment, however, still insisted
1 The Collect was filled in before 1838; in that year the Tombs, erected upon its site, was com- pleted. Dickens, in his "American Notes," styles the architecture of this building, so generally ad- mired at the time, "bastard Egyptian." The cupola of the Tombs was destroyed by fire on the day set for the execution of John C. Colt, who had murdered the printer Samuel Adams in his office at the Irving House. Colt's case excited great
sympathy, but Governor Seward refused to par- don him. That Colt actually committed suicide during the fire was the opinion of Lewis Gaylord Clarke. (See "Account of Colt's Suicide, by L. G. Clarke," in note to " Remarkable Trials." Diossy & Co., 1863.) Although Clarke produced convine ing evidence of the suicide, the popular belief that Colt escaped from prison has never been fully dispelled.
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that water should be furnished by the city corporation, and that no privilege should be accorded to private capital. But practical ob- stacles, the rivalries of these companies, and the apathy of the people frustrated all efforts to increase the city's supply. Circumstances were soon to happen which would rudely awaken the city to the ne- cessity of prompt and energetic action.
Laura Kuene,
In 1828 the city was visited by a disastrous fire, which consumed over six hundred thousand dol- lars' worth of property, and this calamity renewed interest in the efforts to give the city purer and more abundant water. Resolu- tions were presented at meetings of the common council, by which a committee was appointed to con- sider and report. The committee urged the construction of a well and reservoir at Thirteenth street and the Bowery, the laying of iron pipes throughout the city, the erection of steam pumps to force the water into the reservoir, and of hydrants at the various street cor- ners. One reason which the committee sagaciously advanced for the laying of the pipes, was that whenever the long-desired object of supplying the city with water for domestic purposes should be carried into effect, these same pipes would be found serviceable. The im- mediate purpose of their introduction was to furnish water for use at fires. The report was reluctantly approved by the city council, the well and reservoir constructed, and the pipes laid.
"From this feeble and economical beginning," says Charles King, in his " Memoir of the Aqueduct," "sprang our noble Croton Aque- duct; for the immense and immediate advantage in cases of fire de- rived from the reservoir impressed more vividly upon the public mind the far greater advantages that would result from having a river at command." But these measures neither increased nor improved the supply for domestic and commercial uses, although from time to time fresh projects were broached-among others, for bringing the water from the Croton by open canal or pipes; for taking the waters
1 Laura Keene was born in England in 1820, and at an early age evinced a taste for the stage, &p- pearing first under Madame Vestris at the Ly- ceum Theater in London. On October 20, 1852, she made her first appearance in this country at Wal- lack's Theater, scoring a success which was re-
peated in Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities, her best delineations being in comedy. She opened a theater of her own in New-York shortly after her return, in 1855, from Australia ; or- ganized a traveling company, and died in Mont- clair, N. J., November 4, 1873. EDITOR.
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
of the Passaic above the Paterson Falls, and conveying them in pipes under the Hudson River. In all these progressive measures a worthy champion was found in the board of aldermen in Samuel Stevens, who was afterward a member of the first board of water commission- ers. In January, 1831, he urged that a memorial should be presented to the legislature asking a repeal of the privileges of the Manhattan Company, the vesting of all power for supplying water in the corpo- ration of the city, and authority to the corporation to raise by loan &-3 sum not exceeding two millions of dollars for introducing a supply of pure, wholesome water. Investigations made about this time by emi -- nent chemists and physicians em- 1- phasized the need of prompt mea -- sures. A report was presented to 0 the board of aldermen from these Lyceum of Natural History, pre- pared, it was assumed, by Dr. De-St- Kay. This report set forth with Ich startling clearness the menace toto the city's health from the con-11. tinued use of water impregnatedd with the discharges entering into to the soil. In the most populous neighborhoods, and in the vicin- ity of the numerous graveyards, which were then scattered through Prof. Zevens ! the town, the water was found by test to be dangerously impure. The graveyards communicated "a ropy appearance to the water," and in warm weather the water itself was found to become offensive in a few hours. The noted coolness of the pump waters, then so highly prized by the community, might disguise these impurities, but could not eliminate the noxious ele- ments. Until within the last few years the water on the elevated ground in Broadway was considered to be the best in the city, but in the progress of improvement this had become more and more un- palatable. "Indeed," continues the writer of the report, "we know of families living above Broome street, in Broadway, who are now supplied throughout the year by water-carts from the country; and in the direction of Laurens street, we have been informed that this foreign supply is required still further to the north of Broome street.
1 Robert Livingston Stevens, a son of John Stevens, was born in New-York, October 18, 1787, and died April 20, 1856. As an engineer he stood at the head of his profession ; and he invented num- berless improvements in steam-vessels, notably the
walking-beam, still in use. He invented the T-rail, which is generally used in this country and in Europe; a successful percussion-shell; and built the famous ironclad known as the Stevens Battery. EDITOR
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Into the sand-bank underlying the city are daily deposited quantities of excrementitious matter to an extent, were it not susceptible of demonstration, which would be assumed to be incredible." 1
" If," continues this report, "the above facts be well founded, we must naturally anticipate a deterioration of our water pari passu with the increase of the city." The report, in closing, expressed in terse but strong language the conviction that no adequate supply of good or wholesome water could be obtained on the island for the wants of a grow- ing community like New-York. In the face. of such startling facts, confirmed by various other analyses, the subject could not be abandoned.
These analyses demonstrated the futility of all efforts to secure a pure or copious supply from the springs of the island. But the advo- cates of economy at once sought less expensive sources than the Croton River. Various pro- GARDINER ARMS. jects were discussed both within and outside of the city council, and the idea of utilizing the Bronx River was again urged with great persistency. The chief argument in favor of the waters of this river was their cheapness when compared with the gigantic enterprise contemplated by the friends of the Croton plan. The waters of this stream, in point of purity, matched those of the Croton, but it is amusing now to read that the promoters of this plan could not hope for a greater maximum daily supply than nine millions of gallons. This, they argued, would, with an allowance of twenty gallons per head, suffice for all the requirements of a city of 450,000 population. The consumption of the city within a few years reached 18,000,000 gallons, and before its population had much more than doubled the consumption was more than five times as great. But, commended by its comparative cheapness, the Bronx River scheme found friends in the city council, and they drafted a bill empowering the council to borrow two million dollars to be devoted to the procurement of these waters; but the legislature refused to pass the bill. The coun- cil then decided to employ Colonel De Witt Clinton to report his opinion as to the best mode of bringing the waters of the Croton to the city, and the probable expense of their introduction, if he
1 Devoe quotes the following as showing the reputation of the city's water as far back as 1798 : "The Collect behind the 'Tea-water Pump' is a shocking hole, where all impure things centre to- gether and engender the worst of unwholesome productions. . . . Some affect to say that the wa- ter is very cool and refreshing. Everybody knows from experience the water gets warm in a few hours. and, sometimes, almost before it is drawn from the carter's hogsheads. Can you bear to drink
it on Sundays in the summer-time ? It is so bad before Monday mornings as to be very sickly and nauseating ; and the larger the city grows, the worse the evil will be. Already it has been whis- pered by some vigilant travelers through our city that the New-Yorkers are like the dog in the man- ger - they will not provide aqueducts themselves, nor let others do it." Public sentiment in that day was hostile to grants of franchises to individuals or private corporations.
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should conclude that the city should look for its supply to thi source. This distinguished engineer made a most careful examina tion of the various proposed sources of water supply, and reporte strongly in favor of the use of the Croton. The waters of this rive he declared to be the purest and most copious, and amply abunda- for any possible future population 0 the city. The elevation of their bed would give them a sufficient head to convey them to the distributing resen voir in the city at a height sufficient for the supply of the loftiest dwellings and the extinguishment of fires. Hi plan contemplated an open canal from which could be excluded the wash o the soil and rains, and upon which, by the construction of a narrow and deep channel, the winter's cold could have no serious effect. The cost of the whole work would not exceed two million dollars.
Colonel Clinton's report soon bore fruit. The conflicting plans did not allow of a unanimous expression in favor of either, but as all parties were agreed that definite action was necessary, the common council requested the legislature to authorize the appointment of five commissioners, with ample powers to examine all plans, make actual surveys, estimate the probable expense, and generally to do whatever might be necessary. This led to the enact- ment of the law of 1833, under which Governor Marcy, with the con- sent of the Senate, appointed Stephen Allen, Benjamin M. Brown, Samuel Dusenberry, Saul Alley, and William W. Fox commissioners. They were armed with plenary powers, and were to hold office for one year.
Upon one of the heights in Greenwood Cemetery, not far from its entrance, may be seen an imposing monument reared in memory of the engineer who, in 1838, designed and laid out that beautiful city of the dead. That magnificent achievement was the work of David B. Douglass, and he it was whom the newly appointed water com- missioners engaged to make their surveys and report upon the differ- ent plans. For this work Major Douglass was admirably equipped by long preparation and experience in scientific and mathematical pursuits. He had held both mathematical and philosophical chairs at West Point, and had been the chief engineer of the Morris Canal. To him the city of New-York is also indebted for the design of the
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voters of the city at the charter election of 1835, and upon its ratifica- - tion by the people the council were authorized to issue interest-bearing water stock of the city not exceeding two and a half millions of dollars= in amount. The same commissioners were appointed as before, and they retained their engineer. Their report to the common council in February, 1835, shows how profoundly they were impressed with the magnitude and seriousness of their task and the importance of ener ---. getic but conservative action. A full hearing was again accordedd to the friends of other projects, and the availability of the domestic supply was again examined, with the conclusion, in the language ofof the report, that "nothing less than a river distributed through thou-J- sands of channels and brought to the premises of every householder -Ier will be commensurate to the wants of a popula -- Ja- tion such as the city of New-York contains and Ed will contain." That river was the Croton. Its 8 waters were to be taken near its mouth and con- - - veyed to the city in an aqueduct declining fifteen inches in a mile, and were to be delivered in a reservoir on Murray Hill. In the dry seasons this river could supply at least thirty millions of STURGIS ARMS. gallons per day, and ordinarily more than fifty million gallons. Later experience has demonstrated that this was by no means its maximum capacity. The expense of conveying the water in a close aqueduct of masonry was estimated at $4,250,000, and this figure, like estimates almost contemporaneously given to the legislature for improvements in the Erie Canal, and for the con- struction of lateral waterways through the State, fell far below the actual cost. The common council approved the report, and sub- mitted the question for decision at the polls. As no provision had been made by law for the distribution of ballots, the public might have been deprived of an opportunity of authorizing this noble work but for the munificence of several large property-holders of the city, who, sagaciously appreciating the importance of abundant water, con- tributed the necessary funds for the printing and distribution of bal- lots. The vote, which was held on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of April, 1835, was overwhelmingly favorable, being 17,330 for, to 5963 against, the prosecution of the undertaking upon the commissioners' plan.
The work was at once begun with great earnestness. The area that was to comprise the Croton Lake was first staked out, and afterward the entire land from the dam to the Harlem River was determined. Difficulties having arisen between Major Douglass and the chairman of the board of commissioners, the chief engineer was retired, and John B. Jervis, an engineer and inventor of distinction, who had as- sisted in the construction of the Erie Canal, was substituted in his
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stead; but no substantial departure was made from the plans adopted by Major Douglass. Section after section of the work was completed, the legislature meanwhile authorizing the expenditure of additional sums to defray its cost. Engineering obstacles of great difficulty were en- countered at almost every step: there were deep ravines to be crossed by em- bankment or bridge, and lofty hills to be pierced by tunnels. To these for- midable natural obstacles were added the construction of the dam across the Croton River, the aqueduct bridge over the valley of Sing Sing, and finally the problems attendant upon the crossing of the Harlem. The execution of this part of the work gave rise to serious contro- versy. Two plans had been advocated : one, initiated by Douglass, contemplated a bridge on elevated
Catherine I. Clinton'
piers so constructed as not to interfere with navigation; the other, involving the use of iron pipes, requiring less expenditure and shorter time for construction, was approved by the new engineer and the board. Major Douglass's plan of a bridge at the level of the aqueduct was generally popular, was sustained in the board of assistant aldermen, and was eventually enforced by the State legislature.
In 1840 the commissioners who had so admirably conducted the work were removed, and the execution of their trust turned over to a new board, the president of which was Samuel Stevens, who, while a
1 Catherine Jones, the second wife of De Witt Clinton, was the daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones, son of a Welsh physician, Dr. Evan Jones, who settled in Jamaica, L. I., in 1728, and whose family was made known to New-Yorkers of fifty years ago through the historical addresses of Dr. J. W. Fran- cis and Dr. William A. Duer. Dr. John Jones, brother of Thomas, attained eminence as a surgeon, and was one of the two original founders of the New-York Hospital -Dr. Samuel Bard being the other -in 1771. He was honored by the confidence and friendship of both Washington and Franklin. Mrs. Thomas Jones, Mrs. Clinton's mother, was the daughter of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a prom- inent merchant of New-York, and a loyal patriot at the epoch of the Revolution. Mrs. Clinton was a woman of marked character and energy, and was devotedly attached to the memory of her husband. She was an admirable hostess and faithful friend,an open enemy of everything evasive, and noted for her strong sense of mind and conversation. In early life and middle age handsome, she retained VOL. III .- 26.
her dignified appearance and presence up to the time of her death, July 2, 1855, at the age of seven- ty-two years. The following letter, written fifteen years after Clinton's death, is of interest :
" TIVOLI, Aug. 8, 1843.
"SIR: I cannot appreciate your motive in sending me a number of the 'New World' containing an article of which you are the author, purporting to be a review of Hammond's political history of New- York. Notwithstanding the opinion of Chancellor Kent and Mr. Hone, I think the article very offen- sive. Charles Clinton has spoken to me several times of these papers, but in truth I never took the trouble to read a line of them. My late illus- trious husband's character (thank heaven) stands on too firm a basis to be at all injured by the po- litical writings of such men as Hammond or his puerile commentators. May I beg you will never take the trouble of sending me any more of these papers, and should you be at a loss for something to insert in the next, pray publish this letter under its proper signature of CATHERINE J. CLINTON." EDITOR.
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member of the board of aldermen, had worked long and ardently for increased water facilities. The other members of the new board were Benjamin Birdsall, John D. Ward, and Samuel B. Childs. No change was made in the staff of engineers. Every effort was made to finish the aqueduct by the summer of 1842, but difficulties in obtaining rock foundation for the Harlem bridge prevented its completion at that time, and in order that the entrance of water into the distributing reservoir might not be delayed beyond this date, resort was tempora- rily had to the system of inverted siphons or iron pipes for carrying it over the Harlem River. In June, 1842, the commissioners and
CROTEN
CROTON WATER PROCESSION, 1842.
their engineers made a journey through the aqueduct on foot, when examinations were made to test the perfection of the structure. On June 22 the water was for the first time introduced, when the Croton Maid, a little craft designed especially for the purpose, and capable of accommodating four persons, was placed in the aqueduct to begin her novel voyage to the Harlem. On June 27, the water was admitted into the receiving reservoir at Yorkville, with appropriate ceremonies, in the presence of the mayor, common council, the governor, and the members of the court for the correction of errors, then the highest appellate tribunal in the State. With similar impressive ceremonies it was, on July 4, introduced into the distributing reservoir at Fifth Avenue and Forty-second street.
On October 14, 1842, the advent of the water was duly celebrated by the entire populace. The fine weather, which had continued
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uninterruptedly for more than three weeks, like the splendid days of the Columbian celebration of the present autumn of 1892, "held out," as Mayor Hone said, "one day longer to smile upon the great pageant." The city was justly proud. The victim but a few years earlier of a desolating conflagration, upon which closely followed a crisis that, for a time, crippled her commercial and financial in- terests, she had, nevertheless, unaided, completed a work of the greatest magnitude, and had voluntarily incurred in its exe- cution a debt of twelve mil- lions of dollars; and this, too, at an epoch when many States and communities were shame- lessly repudiating their obliga- tions. The celebration was worthy of the city; it surpassed the great demonstration which attended the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. President Tyler was among the invited guests, but, to the intense sat- isfaction of the Whigs of the metropolis, he responded that circumstances would deny him the pleasure of attending. In Henry C. Hunplay June of the following year he made a visit to the city, in conjunction with his son and several cab- inet officers, while on his way to attend the great Bunker Hill cele- bration and to hear Webster's magnificent oration, when a public reception, chiefly attended by the Democrats, was held in his honor. But to the water celebration there came the governor, various other State officials, members of Congress and of the State legislature, foreign consuls, and mayors from other cities of the State, among whom was Henry C. Murphy, then mayor of the recently incorpo- rated city of Brooklyn. In the morning of the day, there was pre- sented to the Fire Department,1 which was now to receive a powerful auxiliary in the Croton, a banner covered with appropriate devices symbolizing the heroic services of our firemen, and old Father Nep- tune exulting in his new triumph over the demon of fire. Then followed a parade, unrivaled by any military or civic demonstration ever before witnessed in the city. The procession contained repre- sentatives of all the leading societies, arts, and professions. The gov-
1 This was the Volunteer Fire Department, which was disbanded in 1865.
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ernor and other invited guests of distinction, the water commission- ers, and members of the Croton aqueduct board, and Mayor Morris, rode in barouches, followed by the military, the firemen both of this city and of Philadelphia, the representatives of various literary, sci- entific, and benevolent institutions, the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade, the numerous temperance organizations, which had
1
OPENING OF THE FOUNTAIN, CITY HALL PARK, 1842.
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