2026 Annual Meeting a great success!

How LiDAR Imaging Helps Vassar Archeology Students “See” Land Takings at the Ashokan & Boyds Corner Reservoirs

Vassar Professor April Beisaw’s lively tale of archeological research around New York City’s water supply system was timely and even provocative, given the outcry over water quality and shortage and, more locally, rising land values near New York City. Through intensive mapping and collaborations with libraries, museums, DEP archives, historical societies and individual residents, Professor Beisaw’s “digging” into the past has become a tool for community action and a guide for future urban water infrastructure planning.

The ten-year investigation, with help from her students, did not involve excavating or displacement of objects. Instead, mapping was essential either using LiDAR (laser pulses to create 3d models) or GIS (geographic information systems) maps to track changes over large spans of time.  Archival searches, and plenty of time tramping around NYDEP (Department of Environmental Protection) recreational properties were also required coursework. And her stories were nonstop! Of particular local interest, the professor presented a comparison of Ashokan’s land takings with those around Putnam County’s Boyds Corner Reservoir, in the town of Kent. As a footnote she mapped detailed changes and expansion of Hastings-on-Hudson’s public lands over time as well.

The title of her talk, Taking Our Water for the City: The Archaeology of New York City’s Watershed Communities, is also the name of her book, which will be republished this year in paperback. The book has become a particular resource for urban studies.

The Friends thank Professor Beisaw for her superb presentation.  Afterwards, more than one audience member mused about auditing her courses!