It is of interest that in July, 1774, a proposal made by Christopher Colics to erect a reservoir, pump water into it from wells, and convey the water through the several streets of the city in pipes, Avas adopted by the authorities of New York; ami that land for the purpose of a reservoir on Great George Street, owned by Augustus Van Cortlandt and Erederick Van Cortlandt, of the Van Cortlandt family of our county, was purchased and works were built and put in operation. The Revolutionary War interfered with the development 1 Another work of great authority (exelu- (1843). Most of the particulars of the sivcly, however, on the old aqueduct anil ante- aqueduct in our text arc digested from cedent conditions) is the " Memoir, etc., of (he King's " Memoir." Croton Aqueduct," compiled by Charles King

first Mr.

GENERAL

COUNTY

HISTORY

of the plans thus inaugurated. After the Revolution frequent attention was given to the water problem, but it was not until 1798 that the necessity of ultimately solving the question by resorting to the streams of Westchester County was foreshadowed. In that year a committee of the common council approved a proposal which had been made by Dr. Joseph Brown for procuring a supply from the Bronx River, and Air. Weston, the engineer of the canal companies of the State, was employed to thoroughly inquire into the matter. Dr. Brown's plan was to dam the Bronx about half a mile below Williams's Bridge. Calculating, however, that the elevation the Bronx at that point was not sufficient to admit of drawing the of water to the city by natural fall, he proposed that it should be raised to the requisite height by pumping machinery. Mr. Weston fully indorsed the Bronx project, but thought that " the Bronx is sufficiently elevated above the highest parts of the city to introduce its waters therein without the use of machinery." (Mr.