King, Charles. A Memoir of the Construction, Cost, and Capacity of the Croton Aqueduct. New York: Charles King, 1843.

He immediately commenced the * A hoghshead is equal to 63 gallons. [Ep.J 54 PRELIMINARY ESSAY. work, and, by the aid of a loan from King James L, who stipulated that one rnoiety of the property should be conveyed to him for security, and triumphing over many obstacles from landholders, through whose possessions the river was to pass, and the greater obstacles arising from …

Owing to leakage, decay, and constant repairs, incident to such structures, they have been superseded by artificial mounds of earth and clay, preserving the natural flow and level of the river. The old Chronicler, Stowe, thus relates the rejoicings, on the occasion of first letting the water of the New River into the cisterns or reservoirs prepared for it. " Being brought to …

"A troop of laborers to the number of sixty or more, well apparallelled, and wearing green Monmouth caps all alike, carried spades, shovels, pick-axes, and such like instruments of laborious employments, marching after drums twice or thrice about the cisterns, the mount, where the Lord Maior and worthy company stood presented themselves before to behold them, and one man in …

The accomplishment of this noble and disinterested enterprise, has justly immortalized the name of Hugh Myddelton. The Goldsmith's Company, of which craft he was, has his portrait among the decorations of their Hall, and in the year 1800, Robert Mylue, Esq., the engineer of the Company who own the river which Myddelton lias taught to pour its salubrious stream into the heart …

The line of the river is very nearly thirty-four miles. More than one hundred and sixty bridges cross it- some of brick, some of iron, and some of wood. There are about sixty culverts that pass beneath its bed the various brooks and rivulets which it traverses in its course. The descent is about three inches to the mile. Both its depth and width vary the former seldom …

enabled the Company to fill the cisterns in the basement stories of the houses they supplied. Hence, in 1810, resort was had to steam engines to throw the water up, and then a head was thus obtained 144 feet above the level of the Thames, and high for enough the loftiest houses. Another consequence of employing the steam engine, was the replacing the wooden tubes through which …

In addition to the supply from the New River, this company, in fulfilment of their contract with the London Bridge Water Works Company, have a steam engine of 100 horse power on the banks of the Thames, between Blackfriars and Southwark iron bridge, which, through a main 33 inches in diameter, extending into the river, can pump up 5000 hogsheads per hour ; so as in any …

The cost of this work, with its improved filtering system, was about 70,000, or $350,000. The West Middlesex Works, after the lapse of nearly a century since the erection of the Chelsea Works, were completed in 1811. They are situated on the north bank of the Thames, near Hammersmith, and about nine and a half miles from London Bridge. The whole water is procured from the …

The Grand Junction Water Company was authorised by act of Parliament, in 1798, but was not undertaken until 1811, when a subsidiary act having been passed, inthe persons who were corporating separately from the Grand Junction Canal Company, to construct the water works, the scheme, amid many difficulties, of which the chief was want of money, was carried out, and a sum of …

Their steam engines, two of 100 horse power each, are erected at Chelsea, between the Royal Hospital and the Chelsea Water Works. From mains laid into the channelway of the river, they pump up water into three spacious basins, at Paddington, each of different dimensions and elevations. The north reservoir, containing 153,465 hogsheads of water, is 91 feet 10 inches above high …

The capital at first deemed necessary was 100,000. Yet, within four years, nearly four times that amount was expended a fact more or less true of each of the other companies an'd " whether it be an upon which Matthews, in his Hydraulia, thus remarks : insurmountable difficulty to form a statement, which in the first instance shall approximate to the real cost of a great …

In 1829, desiring to increase their supply of water, the company obtained an act of Parliament, granting them authority to draw water from Lea Bridge Mills, and to add 120,000 to their capital. The water supplied by these various works, is conveyed to the height of seventy feet by steam engines. About 45,000 houses are supplied with 170,000 barrels daily by this company, which …

The Southwark Company supplies about 7,000 houses daily with 1,500,000 gallons of water, on a capital invested of 66,400. The Lambeth Company, whose works are situated in the Belvidere Road, a short distance from Waterloo Bridge, supplies some 16,000 houses with 1,500,000 gallons. This company has incurred considerable expense, by constructing reservoirs on Brixton Hill, one …

The water flows through this main into a reservoir in Kennington Lane, from which it percolates through a filtering bank, composed of layers of coarse and fine gravel and sand, prior to its entering into another reservoir, where it also remains some time, before it is passed into the well of the distributing steam engine. The supply of this company extends to 12,000 houses …

They all have recourse to steam engines, to raise their supplies to a height sufficient for distribution. The large iron mains, which project out nearly half across the river in some instances, are laid upon the bottom ; a method that could only be resorted to with safety in a river where there is but boat and barge navigation, as is the case with the Thames above London …

pipes, which, on the first application of the pressure of the head of water, burst or leaked to such an extent, as to defeat, for a time, the whole enterprise, and ruin the projectors. The works, however, passed, into other hands iron pipes were substituted, and the town is now well supplied. Water Works of Edinburgh. These works were commenced in 1819, and completed in 1824 …

one inch and a quarter in lengths of nine feet and formed by spigot find faucet, that is,the end of each pipe is widened, in order to receive within it the intrant end of the preceding pipe, which is called the spigot, the joints being then made tight, in the usual way, by a caulking of oakum or clay, and molten lead. The pipes were all proved by the forcing pump, before they …

It is remarked in the account of the works from which we derive these particulars, " that the shaking of pipes by carting, effectually tries them for that of two similar parcels of pipes, equally well cast at first, that which has been carted twenty miles before itwas proved, will exhibit a greater number of defective pipes than that which has been proved at the manufactory …

The population of Edinburgh and Leith, at the time these works were completed, was about 153,000, of whom those in the country parts, intervening between Edinburgh and Leith, and on the outskirts of both, derived water from wells, springs, and rivulets. The remarkable features of this aqueduct, are : First. A large and beautiful compensation reservoir, formed by constructing a …

This tunnel is 700 feet long, and passes under the reservoir (which, nevertheless, is supplied by a pipe from it, ascending on the outside of the rock.) at the depth of 120 feet, Glasgow, more populous than Edinburgh, is supplied by steam power from the waters of the Clyde. The peculiarity of the principal works of this city, for there are two the Glasgow works of which we are …

The pipes and frame were put together on the south side of the river, and the end of the pipe intended for the north side, was stopped with a plug, when a trench having been previously prepared to receive them, by the assistance of machinery, the flexible conduit, with its bed of wood, was hauled across the river, the moveable joints of the pipes, and the hinges of the frames …

This ingenious and useful contrivance was executed in 1810 but one main being found insufficient for the demand on the works, in 1818, another of 28 inches diameter, arid subsequently a third of 36 inches, was laid across the river. The two last conveyed filtered watered only."t There are six engines at Dalmarnock, which propel the water across the Clyde, which is there about …

accordingly, to bring it across by iron pipes laid on the bottom of the river, protected by wooden frames against the risk of accident from the anchors of vessels. The project was rejected as impracticable or inexpedient. " Some " years after," says M. Gautier, when I had charge of the roads on the Rhone, and other works in Languedoc, while at Aries, I heard that a vessel had …

The conduit was soldered at the joints, six feet apart, by the same material, which made a swell at that distance. On each joint were these words in relief, C. CAINTIUS POI HINUS. P., apparently the name of the maker, or of the architect who laid down .the pipes in the time of the Romans. My project of laying pipes along the bottom of the Charente, would not have been half so …

A considerable quantity is also supplied to fountains, or hydrants, on the side-walks, and in the alleys, or closes. The Cranston Hill Works, made many and costly experiments, as to the best mode of filtering the water, which they, too, drew from the Clyde, and eventually so impaired the capital of the company, that in 1834 they were fain to sell out to the Glasgow Company …

The number of inhabitants of Greenock is 25,000, receiving each two cubic feet, or about fourteen and one-tenth gallons daily. Paris will next occupy our attention and considering the skill in all departments of engineering, which on all hands is acknowledged to belong to the French, it is remarkable that their capital, and, as it is often called, and really considered, the …

Marie de Medicis, in 1613, the work was undertaken, and completed in 1624, occupying nearly 12 years. The architect was Jacques de Brasses, the same who furnished the design for the Louvre. The quantity of water, however, thus obtained, was so small as scarcely to compensate for the expense of the work. At subsequent periods, additional 64 PRELIMINARY ESSAY. this aqueduct, and …

John LintlcBr* proposed to Henry IY., the construction of a pumping machine in the Seine, to be set in motion by the flow of its current, and, being engaged to perform the work, he succeeded in raising the water above the Pont Neuf, and thence, in distributing it to the Louvre, and the Tuilleries. This machine, or pump, was called the Samaritan, from the metal figures which …

Girard was charged with the work. The water is taken from the Ourcq, at sixty miles from Paris. In its course, the canal receives the tribute of the Grisette, the Mai, the Therouanne, and the BeuvronneJ all which streams flow into its channel, which terminates in a spacious reservoir, near the Barrier de la Villette, This basin is about 3660 feet long, 366 broad, and 7 deep …

slope of the banks 1.50 base to 1 rise. The velocity of the water is calculated to be nearly thirteen inches a second, and the slope of the Canal about three and a half inches a mile. " It terminates in a From the south-west large basin near the Barriere of Villette. corner opens the St. Martin Canal, communicating with the Seine on the east side of Paris, and a short distance …

Girard, the engineer, by a flight of steps from the cellar of a house where one of the guardians resided. " Convenient arched passages are constructed under three principal streets, where one may walk, and where are laid the different mains taking water from the aqueduct, to conduct it to the various fountains and other points for distribution. They are laid upon stone blocks …

In France it has been generally estimated at 19,195 litres (one inch) for 1,000 inhabitants. The Scotch engineers do not consider the supply complete at less lhan nine gallons a day for each individual in a city. If we compare the distribution of water in London with the population, the supply is at the jate of 20 gallons for each person. But there are no public fountains in …

" Great inconvenience arises among engineers and hydraulicians, from the want of a standard unit, to denote the quantity of water flowing in a given time. The fountaineer's inch (pouce d> eau de fontainier) is used by all French writers upon the subject, though admitted by most of them to be very indefinite. It is perhaps sufficiently correct for practical purposes, but not …

pints, or 13.33 litres a minute, or 19,195 litres in 24 hours.' " The above are French measures. The litre is equivalent to 61,028 cubic inches ; hence the fountaineer's inch is 813 1-2 cubic inches a minute, or 678 cubic feet a day. Gallon, as used by English writers, is also a very ambiguous term, when applied to hydraulic discharges. The gallon which I employ in this …

These take water gratuitously from fountains of the second class, from the Seine, or from the filtering establishments on the quay of the Celestins, sell it for 10 centimes the voire, or two pailfuls of water about two cents for four and a half gallons. In this manner the ; water-porters receive 1,405,252 francs, thus making the total sum of 4,266,756 francs, = $767,835, as …

We conclude with the recent Artesian Well, on a large scale, in the plain of Grenelle, which is thus described : PRELIMINARY ESSAY. 67 THE ARTESIAN WELL AT GRENELLE, PARIS. " Artesian wells are so called from the probability that they were first constructed in Artois, although from the authority of several ancient writers, they appear to have been in use in the earliest ages …

In this basin have been successively deposited the tertiary strata, in the centre of which Paris is situated. On a circular space bounded by the towns of Laon. Mantes, Blois, Sancerre, Nogent-sur-Seine, and Epernay, these strata appear at the surface, and conceal the chalk, but on the other side of the towns we have mentioned, the edge of the basin being passed, the chalk is …

Beneath the marl and clay, the boring-rods had to perforate pure gravel, plastic clay, and finally chalk, which forms the bottom of the basin in which the tertiary strata have been deposited. No calculations or geological knowledge could determine the thickness of this stratum of chalk, which, from its powers of resistance might present a nearly insurmountable obstacle. The …

the water of the spring in question would necessarily rise to the surface, because, in the well at Elbeuf, which is nearly nine yards above the level of the sea, the water rises from twenty-seven to twenty-nine yards above the surface of the earth, and consequently from thirty-six to thirty-eight yards above the level of the ocean. Now, as the orifice at Grenelle is only …

The size of the rods diminished in proportion to the depth, and as the subterranean water was not reached so soon as was expected, it became requisite five several times to enlarge the diameter of the bore, to admit of the work being successfully continued. Accidents occurred also, which tried the utmost patience of the projectors. In May, 1837, when the boring had extended to …

In the course of a few hours the water rose to the surface and discharged itself at the rate of 600,000 gallons per hour. The depth attained was six hundred and two yards. The pipe by which the water reaches the surface has recently been carried to a height, nearly on a level with the source of supply. At present the water flows into a circular iron reservoir at the top of the …

" The opportunity of ascertaining the temperature of the earth at great depths was not neglected during the progress of the works at Grenelle. Thermometers placed at a depth of thirty yards in the wells of the Paris Observatory invariably stand at 53 Fahrenheit. In the well at Grenelle the thermometer was 74 at a depth of four hundred and forty-two yards, and at five hundred …

The aqueduct of Lisbon has been long admired for the excellence of its construction, and, in point of magnitude, is not inferior to any similar edifice which the ancients have left us. That part of it situated in the valley of Alcantara, about a mile from Lisbon, consists of thirty-five arches, by which the water is conveyed over a deep vale, formed by two opposite mountains …

ever, decrease by any regular progression, neither are the curves employed in the arches of one kind, fourteen of them being in the Gothic or pointed style the rest are semi-cir- ; cular, a variation adopted by the architect, Manuel dal Maga, from an apprehension, that making the five principal arches semi-circular, he would considerably add to the expense. In the rest of the …

A continued passage runs through the centre of it, for the people who constantly attend to keep it in order, and a semi-circular channel or conduit of 13 inches diameter at each through which the water is conveyed. It is worthy of remark, that side, these channels are laid not in an inclined direction, as in other aqueducts, but horizontally to compensate for this, a small …

This munificent prince laid the foundation of it in 1713, and in thirteen years the whole was completed. The city of Lisbon, in testimony of gratitude raised an arch to his memory, bearing a flattering inscription, in the Latin tongue, importing that he had not only conferred wealth, glory, strength and peace on his kingdom, but that, overcoming nature as it were, he had …

the mode of construction, nor of the cost of this noble work, nor given any hint of the quantity of water brought into the city by it. The supply of this aqueduct is derived from the mountains of Cintra. Its course is between 8 and 9 miles, and it terminates in the city, in a Chateau d'Eau or Castellum, whence the waters are distributed to numerous fountains. Lisbon is built …

of water carriers, of Spanish descent, and from their province of Gallicia, taking the name of Gallegos, effect the distribution of the bountiful outpouring of this noble aqueduct, and are to be seen at all hours of the day, toiling up the stone stairways of the loftiest houses, bearing on their head or shoulders, an earthen vase, containing almost a barrel of water. With this …

Garcilasso, who was a Peruvian by the mother's side, and who wrote his Commentaries in 1560, records of Viracocha, the seventh Inca, that he constructed "an aqueduct, 12 feet in depth, and 120 leagues in length. The source of it was in springs on the top of a high mountain between Parca and Picuy, which were so plentiful, that at the very head of the conduit they seemed to be …

fabrics, which have been the works of mighty princes, who have left their prodigious monuments of ostentation to be admired by future ages, for indeed, we ought to consider that these waters had their sources and beginning from vast high mountains, and were carried over craggy rocks and inaccessible passages ; and to make these ways plain, they had no help of instruments …

The conduit of water which passes through all the divisions of Cuntisuya, I have seen in the province of Qaiechuas, which is part of that division, and considered it an extraordinary work, indeed surpassing the description and report which had been made of it. 72 PRELIMINARY ESSAY. But the Spaniards, who were aliens and strangers, little regarded the convenience of these …

" The largest and finest construction of the Indians in this way, is the aqueduct of the city of Tezcuco. We still perceive the traces of a great mound, constructed to heighten the level of the water. How must we admire the industry and activity displayed by the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians, in the irrigation of arid lands. In the maritime parts of Peru, I have seen the …

"'I have had various opportunities,' says a recent traveller, 'of closely examining one of these canals, which is formed at the source of the river Sana, on the right bank, and extends along a distance of 15 leagues, without reckoning sinuosities, and which consequently supplied a large population, particularly one city, whose ruins still remain in the vicinity of a farm named …

" It is probably one of these fountains that now supplies the Hospital de Naturales ; its pipesare buried under the earth, and cannot be traced, and, as in the time of the Peruvian historian, its sources are unknown. At Lanasca, there is also a fountain supplied through subterranean conduits, the source of which has never been traced. Many of these great works became useless …

" There appeared on that side," says De Solis, " two or three rows of pipes, made of trees hollowed, supported by an aqueduct of lime and stone, and the enemy had cast up some trenches to cover the avenue to it. But the two Captains marched out of Tacuba with most of their troops, and though they met with a very obstinate resistance, they drove the enemy from their post, and …

" Along one of the causeways that lead into the city, are laid two pipes, constructed of masonry, each of which is two feet in width and about five feet in height. An abundant supply of excellent water, forming a volume equal in bulk to the human body, is conveyed by one of the pipes, and distributed about the city, where it is used by the inhabitants for drinking, and other …

under the bridges, on which the reservoirs are placed, and men stationed above fill them with water, for which service they receive a suitable compensation." We are indebted for this translation to Mr. Folsom, the Librarian of the New York Historical Society ; who is preparing for the press a complete English version of Cortes' Letters. " Chronicle of New Spain" was published …

De Sol is, the historian of the Conquest of Mexico, speaking of the magnificence of Montezuma, and of his works, thus refers to the waters and aqueducts of the city : " In all these gardens and pleasure houses, he had many fountains of sweet and wholesome water, conveyed from the neighboring mountains, by different canals as far as the causeys, whence in covered pipes, it was …

After this he gave orders for a very thick wall, with two open canals, made of stone and lime, of which one was always in use when the other required cleaning. A building extremely useful and Montezuma valued hmiself so much upon the ; invention, that he ordered his own effigies and that of his father, which bore a pretty near * Cronica c"e la Nueva-Espana, por Francisco Lopez …

" The water," says our author, " was conveyed with many superstitious ceremonies, some of the priests offering incense, others sacrificing quails, and anointing the lip or border of the aqueduct with blood ; others sounding musical instruments, and otherwise solemnising the arrival of the water. The high priest wore the same habit with which they represented Chalclichuitlical …

The sides were of smooth stones about four feet high, and the roof was made by stones lapping over like the corridors of the buildings. At a short distance from tha entrance, the passage turned to the left, and at a distance of 160 feet it was completely blocked up by the ruins of the roof which had fallen in. What was its direction beyond, it was impossible to determine, but …

Within it, is laid the canal, about eighteen inches wide, twenty-four deep, and three miles long. It commences at the bottom of the lofty conical peak of the Corcovado, where the waters flowing from that mountain, are collected into a covered reservoir, and thence conveyed into the canal. Their course from the summit is through deep and shady woods, and the canal is defended …

The first water works were commenced in 1799, (the year in which the Manhattan Company was incorporated for supplying New- York with water,) and consisted of forcing pumps, worked by steam engines, which raised the water from the Schuylkill into a reservoir, constructed at an elevation of fifty feet on the banks of the river, from which it was conveyed to the city in wooden …

in 1819, a contract wasmade with Capt. Ariel Cooly, for damming the Schuylkill. For the sum of $150,000, he undertook to throw a dam of sufficient height across the river to create the requisite head of water, to construct the locks and canal for the accommodation of the navigation, to build the head arches of the race-way for the water power, and to excavate the race out of …

necessary to excavate to the width of one hundred and forty feet, to form a race as a site for the mill houses running parallel with the river. The length of the mill race is four hundred and nineteen feet, the greatest depth of excavation sixty feet, and the least sixteen feet. The gunpowder used, alone cost the contractors upwards $ 12,000. At the upper part of this …

The race is about ninety feet in width, and is furnished with water through the head arches, which allow a passage of water sixty-eight feet in breadth, and six feet in depth, to which the race is excavated below the overfall of the dam, and of course, room is allowed for a continual passage of four hundred and eighty square feet of water these ; arches are on the north of the …

Those now in use, are kept warm by means of two large iron stoves, heated to great advantage and economy with Schuylkill and Lehigh coal. It has been from the commencement determined, for the present, to erect only three wheels and pumps, which are now completed, and with them the most important parts of the duty of the committee. The first of the wheels is fifteen feet in …

The third wheel went into operation on the 24th December, 1822, and is of the same size as the second, and works under the same head and fall, making thirteen revolutions in a minute with a five feet stroke of the pump, and raises one and a half million gallons of water in twenty-four hours. It is not doubted that the second wheel can be made to raise an equal quantity, thus …

They are double forcing pumps and are connected, each of them, to an iron main of sixteen inches diameter, which is carried along the bottom of the race to the rock at the foot of Fairmount, and thence up the bank into the new reservoir. At the end of the pipe there is a stop-cock, which is closed when needful for any purpose. The shortest of these mains is two hundred and …

The actual consumption of water in Philadelphia, is stated at 2,000,000 " when the streets are washed." gallons in winter, and 3,000,000 in summer, PRELIMINARY ESSAY. 79 The distribution of the water from Fairmount, is by two iron mains of 20 inches diameter, to the junction of Chestnut and Broad Streets ; and thence by intersecting pipes through various parts of the city …

This edifice, which is appropriated to the machinery for raising water, has its foundation laid deep and strong in the rock which, at this place, forms the bed of the Ohio. Its walls, commencing about ten feet above low water mark, are built of limestone. They are eight feet thick at the foundation, diminishing gradually to a height of thirty-five feet, where they are five …

The water is carried through cast iron pipes, under the bed of Deer creek, to the intersection of Broadway and Third street, where it is distributed along all the principal streets, through pipes of oak logs with iron joints. About twenty-four miles of pipe have been already laid, and they are constantly extended as rapidly as public convenience and patronage require. The …

Satement of the Condition of the Water Works, on the 15th of December, 1840. There are now in the city, Wooden pipes, from 1 to 2 5 inches in diameter, 19 miles. Iron pipes, from 4 to 20 inches in diameter, - - 4 " - Making in all, 23J There have been laid since the purchase of the works by the city, Wooden pipes of 2 inches diameter, ----- 3,337 feet, " Iron pipes of 4 to 10 …

It is at once seen, that although the original cost of logs is much cheaper than iron, yet the repairs of such logs cost as much as the first cost of iron pipes of double the capacity ; as regards economy, therefore, there can be but one opinion, and that is in favor of good iron pipes. Another from the use of logs, which is severely felt in the upper part of the city, is …

They suffered formerly at Philadelphia in the same manner as ourselves, when at one time they had six lines of wooden pipes leading their water to the city, which they finally abandoned, and substituted iron pipes of large diameter. " There have been discontinued since the city came into possession of the water works of wooden pipes, seven thousand eight hundred and …

But the large average supply (so greatly beyond the wants of the citizens) is owing to the innumerable leaks from the wooden pipes, which it is impossible principally to discover, as the water descends into the gravel and into the numerous sink holes, so common on the upper plane of the city. "As the iron pipes are substituted, this waste will diminish, and I have no doubt …

had some few years ago, surveyed the ground between Boston and the Long Pond, distant about ten miles from the city, and reported a plan quite feasible, and, considering the advantages promised, of reasonable cost, by which a perpetual and abundant supply to the whole city, could be derived from that source and delivered at a sufficient elevation, to supply the upper stories …

The stream selected for the purpose of supplying the citizens, is the Piskawin Creek, and the distributing reservoir is placed on its margin, about one third of a mile east of the city, and at an elevation of 100 feet above tide, and about 73 feet above the plain upon which most of the city buildings 82 PRELIMINARY ESSAY. are erected. The reservoir will hold about 1,900,000 …

Providence, in Rhode Island, is partially supplied by an aqueduct, but on no very extensive scale. Richmond, the capital of Virginia, derives water from the James river by works planned by Mr. Albert Stein, who was among the engineers originally employed to survey the courses of, and make estimates for, the Croton Aqueduct. An engine house 56 feet long and 58 wide, built of …

Before the declaration of independence, considerable expenditures had been made in order to satisfy this want. In July, 1774, the proposal of Christopher Colles, to erect a reservoir and to convey water through the several streets of the City, after having been sometime before the Common Council, was finally adopted and ordered to be carried into effect. The scheme of Mr …

The quality of the water proving satisfactory, on the 25th of August, the former resolution of the Board accepting the proposals of Mr. Colles was confirmed, and Treasury notes to the amount of 2,500, were ordered to be issued to meet the expense. 86 MEMOIR OF THE Notes to that amount were, accordingly, issued of the following denominations : 4000 of six pence each 100 4000 of …

rpH IS NOTE shall entitle the BEARER to the Sum of TWO SHILLINGS, current Money of the Colony of New- York, payable on DEMAND, by the MAYOR, ALDERMEN, and COMMONALTY of the City of New-York, at the Office of Chamberlain of the said City, pursuant to a Vote of the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty, of this Date. Dated the Twenty-fifth Day of August, in the Year of our Lord …

Peter Jay's land, and runs thence along the same, south, fifty-three degrees, east six chains and twenty links to a meadow, thence along the meadow, south sixteen degrees and thirty minutes, west two chains and seventy-seven links, thence north fifty-three degrees, west seven chains and twelve links to Great George Street aforesaid, thence along the east side thereof north …

At that period, Governor Tryon ruled over the Colony, and among his other prero- It may not be without gatives was that of appointing the Maydr and Sheriff of the City. interest at this day, to see who then were the fathers of the City. They were for 1775, WHITEHEAD HICKS, Mayor. JOHN WATTS, Jr., Esq., Recorder. Francis Filkins, Benjamin Huggett, Benjamin Bragge, Theophilus …

Scarcely, however, had peace returned, with Liberty and National Independence achieved, than our citizens again busied themselves about good water. In April, 1785, Samuel Ogden made proposals to the Corporation for erecting and establishing Water Works to supply the City. In January, 1786, proposals for a like object were presented by the Hon. R. R. Livingston and John …

Ordered, further, That the Aldermen and Assistants, be requested to set on foot, in their respective Wards, representations to this Board, in writing, and subscribed by the citizens, in order, more fully, to ascertain their sense, whether the Corporation ought to grant to individuals, the privilege of supplying the City with water, or whether the same ought to be undertaken by …

ing for a patent for his discovery, and that when completed, they would make proposals to the Board, for a contract for furnishing the city of New York with water. The Board adopted a resolution expressive of their desire to encourage Mr. Rumsey's invention, and to enter into a contract for the supply of the city with water, and inviting proposals, to the end, that if …

Next month, January, 1797, sealed proposals for supplying the city by means of pipes, were advertised for, and in May, some seven or eight different applications were received ; among them, one from Christopher Colles, who had undertaken the work in 1774. These were all referred to a committee. In December, of next year, 1798, we find R. J. Roosevelt, and Judge Cooper, of …

Weston, who has been the engineer of the Canal companies in this State, and whose abilities are well known, be requested to examine that river, with the situation of the grounds to be employed in the aqueduct, and such other matters incident to the supply of the city with pure and wholesome water from that or any other source, as he may think proper, and that he be requested …

Under this impression, and to avoid any further delays which may arise, unless measures are taken to prevent pecuniary embarrassments, and other difficulties in the course of the business, your Committee would recommend, That, an act be prepared and presented to the Legislature, investing the Corporation with the powers necessary to effect the great end they have in view, and …

Weston accepted the appointment, and in March, 1799, made a favorable report on the practicability and sufficiency of the supply from the Bronx river, as recommended by Dr. Brown, the way seemed clear for at once undertaking the work. The memorial of Dr. Brown, argued the question on the score of health, safety, and comfort. The yellow fever had made great ravages in the city …

" The large stagnating, filthy pond, commonly called the Collect, which now is, or soon will be, the centre of the city, has been looked to by some people, as a fund from whence an adequate supply might be obtained, by means of a steam engine, for all the purposes already spoken of. I cannot undertake to say, that this source would at present be incompetent to all the …

And again, supposing the pond to contain and furnish enough, it is a consideration well deserving attention, whether a pond, into which the filth from many of the streets must, without very great expense and care, be constantly discharged, and to which the contents of vaults, &c., will continually drain, is a desirable source from whence we should like to take water for …

92 MEMOIROFTHE and if it can be made satisfactorily to appear, that the required supply can be obtained from this source, I am ready to allow that it is a work, that would be soonest accomp] ish ed, and attended with the least expense. But we ought to be extremely cautious in hazarding an experiment, where the cost would be so great, and the event so doubtful. The question is …

I am sensible that we should not too hastily conclude that the above is the total amount of the supply that may be derived from this source ; I think it very probable, that from the nature of the surrounding ground, (which is a coarseand porous gravel,) a considerable portion thereof, may percolate through, into the adjacent rivers. Much, and perhaps the greatest quantity, is …

However grateful this may be to our feelings, it does not follow that it is equally conducive to healthfor whatever degree ; of purity it may now possess, the period is not very remote, when from the natural increase of the city, these springs must be subject to those contaminations which have already rendered so many wells unfit for use, an evil that is daily increasing, and …

"About half a mile below Williams' Bridge, over the Bronx, is a piece of low meadow ground, in which rise two springs, one of which runs easterly and empties itself into the Bronx, and not more than four hundred yards from its origin. The other spring empties itself into the Harlem river, traversing a distance of about six miles. The place on which those springs originate, are …

The spring to which he alludes, is the Morrissania creek. The point at which the work was to commence is fifty feet above tide, and the City Hall was the old building in Wall-street. He also says : "When I first interested myself on this subject, I was in hopes a place sufficiently high might have been found, from whence the waters of the Bronx could have been conducted to New …

Now as the ground in the city of New York, to which water ought to be conveyed to a principal reservoir, is about forty feet above high tide, which is ten feet only below the level of the river Bronx, where it may be diverted, I consider it a fall perfectly inadequate to any design of conveying the water in a line of pipes it then becomes ne- ; cessary, that the water of the …

This was to be delivered into a reservoir at the Dove, a public house about ' the 24 hours. five miles from the city, and thence conveyed by pipes, to a distributing reservoir to be constructed in the Park, or some, then open ground, north of the Hospital, 94 MEMOIROFTHE Mr. Weston's plan was to take the water of the Bronx river, at Lorillard's snuff factory, to raise a dam …

He " It says, appears from examinations that have been recently made, that the Bronx is sufficiently elevated above the highest parts of the city to introduce its waters therein without the use of machinery, and the intermediate ground, though very irregular, presents no obstacles which art and industry may not surmount." He also says, " An absolute necessity to preserve a …

The water was to be brought in an open canal to the Harlem river that stream was to be crossed ; by a cast iron cylinder of two feet diameter, with a descent of eight feet. His reservoirs were to be divided into three parts, and two of them again subdivided. The first two divisions he called the reception apartments, which were to be filled with the water from the cylinders …

Weston offered no estimates of the cost of the work he recommended, but urged very earnestly, that no time should be lost in securing, at any rate, the right to use the Bronx fiver, Avhich then might, as he supposed, be had for a reasonable compensation ; but which from the great advantages for manufacturing purposes that it offered, and its proximity to the city, he argued …

These views of private interest and speculation, were aided by the real difficulty, which intelligent and practical men apprehended, in raising the money needed for such an undertaking as the introduction of the Bronx river into the city, and hence with that of Aaron Burr, we see associated the names of Alexander Hamilton, Gulian Verplanck, John Murray, and others, in …

Burr, called on him, and stated to him, in presence of the Recorder, who was also requested to attend for the purpose, that great difficulties had arisen in the minds of members of the Legislature, touching the power requested to be vested in their Board, by the bill for supplying the city with water, and the bill for investing the Board with adequate powers in relation to the …

Board a paper without signature, which he stated to the Board he had received from Major General Hamilton, as the proposition for their consideration this day, which being read Resolved, that before the Board proceed upon the said propositions, they ought to be * Mr. Burr was then one of the members of Assembly from this city, and was employing the influence of his station …

New- York, February 26, 1799. DEAR SIR I last night received your letter, dated yesterday the resolutions of the- : ; Common Council discover a mistake as to the character under which the gentlemen named in them, made their communication to yourself and the Recorder. They did not pretend to appear in an official capacity, but intended to be considered merely as private …

The conveyance of water in pipes through every part of this city, as well for the more convenient cleaning and washing of streets, alleys and lanes, as for the supply of the inhabitants. Then follow four other provisions as to draining low grounds, filling up slips, &c. As to the first point, the plan proposed by the Corporation is, that the business shall be executed by the …

Computing its annual amount at $30,000, if granted for 20 years, which is as much as can be hoped, it would be equal only to a capital of $344,097, 60, interest at 6 per cent, CROTONAdUEDUCT. 97 But it is hardly to be expected that money can be borrowed at so low a rate. How far short will this be of the sum probably requisite ? This cannot be safely estimated at less than a …

It is not to be doubted, that it will promote the convenience of the citizens, and secure the final success of the object, to let in the aid of a capital to be created by the voluntary contributions of individuals. This may be obtained on a plan like the following : Let a company be incorporated, of all those who shall subscribe to the fund, with a capital not exceeding a …

The residue of this paper, which is signed Alexander Hamilton, relates to the health laws, &c. After the communication was read, the Board came to the following determination : Whereas, By the Report of a Joint Committee from this Board, from the Chamber of Commerce, and from the Medical Society, with the Commissioners of the Health Office, dated 14th January last, a variety …

arisen to the said bills, upon the ground, that a Company would be best adapted to the business of supplying the city with water, &c. Resolved, That this Board is truly anxious that the measures recommended by the said Joint Committee, and every other measure which may promote the health and welfare of the city, be pursued in the way that may be most likely to secure these …

Resolved, That a copy of the above resolutions, under the Common Seal, together with the papers and proceedings of the Board, relating to the subject, be transmitted to such members of the Board as are at present in the Legislature. This seems to have removed the chief obstacle to the success of Mr. Burr's plan for obtaining a charter for the Manhattan Company. The sequel may …

Whereas, By an act of the Legislature of the State of New York, passed 2d April, inst, entitled an act, for supplying the city of New York with pure and wholesome " it is water, among other things enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city of New York, to subscribe to the stock of the President and Directors of the Manhattan …

Ordered, That a copy of this resolution, with the Common Seal affixed and subscribed by Mr. Mayor, on behalf of the Board, be delivered to the Treasurer or Chamberlain. Ordered, That a loan of $5000 be made of the Bank of New- York, and that a bond for the payment thereof, with interest at 6 per cent., be made with the Common Seal affixed and subscribed by Mr. Mayor on behalf …

Although privileged by their charter to go over the whole island of New York, and into West Chester County, to seek for good water, the Company contented themselves with sinking a large well at the corner of Duane and Cross-streets, in one of the city, and thence pumped up that which they called most thickly settled portions of the pure and wholesome water, but which was …

"From that period up to the year 1816, the whole subject was apparently lost sight of, notwithstanding that for several of the intervening years, the growth of the city was more rapid, and its prosperity, and increase in wealth, more obvious than ever before. In 1812, the causes of dissatisfaction between this country and Great Britain, which had long been gathering strength …

Golden being- Mayor, a memorial from Robert Macomb was presented, for permission to supply the city with water for all domestic purposes, and asking the appointment of a committee and one was appointed to confer with him. Early in the ensuing spring, the committee reported that they had repeated conferences with Mr. Macomb, and being satisfied that he and his associates had …

Resolved, That Robert Macomb, and his associates, shall bind themselves and their successors, in a contract with the Common Council, to transfer at any time when required, after the expiration of 40 years from the completion of the water works, all right and interest therein, to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city, for which, they shall receive the cost of …

Stevens, that there be inserted in the contract, a clause regulating the price at which water is to be furnished to the citzens and the public. The scheme of Mr. Macomb and associates, was to bring the water from Rye pond, and they professed their ability to complete the work in two years, without any compensation or aid from the Common Council, asking only the privilege of …

Carrol, who had examined the Rye pond and the Bronx river, at various sites, and particularly at its junction with Mill Brook, where, according to the plan of Mr. R. Macomb, it is to be diverted, carried through Mill Brook, thence through a deep cutting to the valley of the Morrisania Creek, and so, to Macomb's Dam. The water to be taken from the Bronx, at an elevation of 52 …

Next year, a new set of schemes seems to have been started, one was to bring the Housatonic river to New York in an open canal, as well for purposes of commerce, as for supplying water to the city, and an act of incorporation was obtained by some citizens of Connecticut, for this enterprise. This project, however, soon gave way to that of constructing a canal to the city from …

granted to the applicants, took care, while reserving a right to subscribe for a portion of the stock, to guard themselves against any obligation to do so. They at the same time, in the bill accompanying the memorial, sought to provide a fund, on the faith of which they might borrow such sums as they should subscribe, by asking authority to raise, for that purpose, 1-2 of 1 …

river, and passing through the towns of Paulding, Patterson, and south-east to Crawford's Mills on the east branch of the Croton, making a distance of forty miles. From Crawford's Mills, the route by an undulating course, requiring the construction of two tunnels, one 1,320 yards in length, and the second 1,760 yards, reached Macomb's dam, at an elevation of 97 feet above tide …

White presented various plans and estimates, some for an open canal to Macomb's dam, and thence the water to be raised by means of the water power furnished by the dam to the requisite elevation on the New York shore ; another, for taking the water of the Bronx at the higher elevation of the Westchester cotton factory pond, and conducting it in an arched tunnel of masonry to …

CROTON AQUEDUCT. tion of 244,000, much beyond that then contained in the city of New York, would be accommodated. Notwithstanding the expense which the city had incurred by these preliminary surveys and estimates, no farther action seems to have been taken in the matter, for on 17th January, 1825, we find the Recorder presenting to the Common Council a resolution for enquiring …

Canvass White was employed by the Company as Engineer, and in his report to the directors, recommended that the Bronx river be the source, and that the water, being taken at Underbill's Bridge, would yield a daily supply of 9,100,000 gallons, at an expense for the whole construction, of $1,450,000. They were to be conveyed in an arched conduit of masonry to Harlem river, and …

104 MEMOIR OF THE Common Council, in March 1826, was directed to inquire whether " water of the best quality, and in quantity sufficient to supply the wants of the city, cannot be obtained from wells sunk, or to be sunk, on Harlem heights." This led to the incorporation by the next Legislature, in 1827, of a fourth company, called the New- York Well Company. The water was to …

Disbrow proposed to supply the city by an Artesian well and reservoir in each ward. But, inasmuch as the product of these wells is limited, even supposing, what is by no means certain, that the multiplication of them at different levels would not diminish the supply, and drain the sources of the more shallow to the deeper perforations, it seemed obvious that the cost of such …

And in consequence, a report made by Alderman Samuel Stevens, in favor of the establishment of a well and reservoir in Fourteenth-street, whence water might be distributed, was accepted and acted upon. In that Report, Mr. Stevens says : Various Institutions have been chartered for the purpose of bringing water into the city, but none have as yet evercomplied with the main …

The result is, that all that part of the city lying above Grandstreet on Broadway, or Pearl-street on the east side of the city, has not the use of the Manhattan water for the purpose of extinguishing fires. It has therefore become absolutely necessary for the Corporation, in some manner, to give to the upper part of the city, a supply of water for that purpose. The breadth of …

Now to provide for the section of the city between Fourteenth and Grandstreets on Broadway, and Fourteenth and Pearl-streets on Chatham-street, on the east side of the city, by cisterns, would require the construction of at least 60 additional cisterns, supposing that each thousand feet square required a cistern, and if we estimate them at $600 each, (including expenses of …

A rise, or additional head at Fourteenth-street, (as a starting point,) of three feet, would give the necessary head to make the water flow over the surface of the highest streets in the city, and would give an excess of head over four-fifths of the section of the city referred to, of at least fifteen feet. But as a reservoir would be necessary to hold the supply of water, an …

The distance of these two lines will be about 12,000 feet, or 2 miles and the aggregate expense of tubes, laying down, and ; $500 for plugs or hydrants, will amount to $24,500. The expense of a wooden reservoir containing 2000 hogsheads, (equal to twenty cisterns,) it is estimated would not exceed $1500, making in all $26,000. -It is believed that the power of a single horse …

for theimmense and immediate advantages in cases of fire derived from this reservoir, impressed more vividly upon the public mind the far greater advantages that would result from having a river at command. Early in 1830, we find a motion made in the Common Council, to apply to the Legislature for all needful power to supply^he city with water, and to create two millions of …

To bring the water of the Passaic, taken above the falls at Paterson, New Jersey and to cross the Hudson by iron pipes laid on the bottom of the river to cost $1,932,000. 4th. A plan of his own, of which the particulars are not given, but which seems to look to wells and springs, on Manhattan Island the cost $792,000. A communication was received, in September, from Benjamin …

Resolved, That the Counsel of the Board, prepare a memorial to the Legislature, setting forth the wants of the city, in relation to a full and ample supply of water, as necessary for the safety of the city against fire, and to be of a pure and wholesome quality, as necessary for the preservation of the health and lives of our fellow-citizens, and further setting forth, that …

This was followed by a petition from numerous brewers, complaining of the impure and noxious qualities of the Manhattan water of which this analysis, made in 1831, by the chemist, Chilton, furnishes abundant proof : ANALYSIS OF THE MANHATTAN WATER. The sample was obtained from the pump at the works before its entrance into the cistern, sp. gr. 1011. One wine quart was slowly …

Townsend presented a report from the Lyceum of Natural History, in New York, in answer to queries addressed to that Society, relative to the probable supply and quality of water which Manhattan Island might furnish. As a disposition then existed in some quarters, and perhaps even still lingers, to rely upon the water and wells of the island, the facts and reasonings of the …

Weaccordingly find that all the water in the city contains these, and occasionally other ingredients. For the following analysis of pump waters in various parts of the city, the Committee are indebted to one of its members. When it is recollected that the hardest spring water seldom contains so much as one thousandth part of its weight of any foreign body in solution, it would …

CROTON AQUEDUCT. Carb. Lime and Magnes., 1 25 Extractive Matter and Loss, 75 Total, 7 No. 3. A pint yielded 4 50 grains composed of Mur. Soda, 1 Mur. Magnes., - 2 Carb. Lime, 1 Sulph. Lime and Extractive, 50 - - Total, 4 50 No. 4. A pint yielded about 4 grains composed of Mur. Lime. Mag. and Extractive, 1 80 Mur. Soda, - - Sulph. Lime, Carb. Lime, - - 1 Total, 4 05 No. 5 …

From accurate data, these obstacles to the transmission of water from the surface, by dwellings and pavements, are estimated to carry off into the river nearly one half of the water which falls from the atmosphere. In the neighborhood of large open squares, it is consequently observed that the wells are more pure, but they must sooner or later partake of the same …

ingly find this to be the case. Until within the last few years, the water on the elevated ground in Broadway, was considered to be the best in the city. In the progress of improvement, this water is now hard and unpalatable. Indeed, we know of families living above Broome-street, in Broadway, who are now supplied throughout the year by watew carts from the country and in the …

Although the fastidious may revolt from the use of water thus sweetened to our palate, it is perhaps fortunate that this mixture is daily taking place, for otherwise the water of this city would become, in a much shorter space of time than it actually does, utterly unfit for domestic purposes. We cannot take leave of this part of the subject without adverting to the various …

This may be tested by allowing it to stand until it has acquired the ordinary summer temperature its various ingredients become ; then manifest, palpable. These impurities are not caused by the additional heat they ; exist at all times in the water ; their presence is only disguised for the moment by its coldness, and its injurious properties are in no wise diminished. Your …

From all which has been previously stated, you will learn that it is the unanimous opinion of the committee, that no adequate supply of good or wholesome water can be obtained on this Island, for the wants of a large and rapidly increasing city like New York. The various perforations which have been made, in the absence of all other proof, would sufficiently establish this …

Independently of the uncertainty both as to the quantity and quality of the water which might thus be obtained, the multiplication of wells and steam engines that would be required to produce the supply needed estimated at 4,000,000 gallons, daily was a decisive objection. The Artesian well of the Manhattan Company, at Thirteenth-street, which is considered as a very …

Three plans were suggested : an open canal, an arched brick tunnel, and iron pipes. The first is condemned, because of the impurities, which, in its course it would be liable to gather ; and upon the whole, the preference is given to the arched tunnel, which, according to an estimate of Canvass White, might be constructed, of five feet diameter, for $31,174 per mile, making …

The machinery for lifting, and the reservoirs on Harlem heights, which were to be 120 feet above tide, were to cost $50,000 more. And the three lines of twelve inch iron pipe, calculated to convey 2,000,000 gallons daily (an adequate supply for the then population), were to cost $10,000 MEMOIR OF THE per mile each. The distance from the receiving reservoir at Harlem to that at …

Your Committee are of opinion that the expense of this undertaking, the advantages of which will be lasting and permanent in their character, should be provided for by a loan, and they view the present or coming season as one at which this money can be procured at a low rate of interest, probably not to exceed four per cent., redeemable in It would be well secured, as due from …