Credit: Jervis Public Library-‐Rome, NY
A cutaway side view of the redesigned masonry section of the Croton Dam with innovative curved spillway to help break the force of water flowing over its face. A stilling pool at the foot of the cut masonry section further broke the force of falling water. Stone filled timber cribbing and concrete are at its base, topped by masonry and finely cut stone facing on its surface. This section was built to replace an earthen embankment that washed out in a great flood in January 1841 soon after its completion.
Courtesy Mike James
The “entrance entablature” memorializing the engineers, commissioners and contractors who built the Croton Dam, is sited over the intake where water entered the aqueduct just upstream from the reservoir.
Courtesy Marc Cheshire
The Croton Dam, reservoir and gatehouse shown before the structures were submerged under thirty feet of water behind the New Croton Dam in 1905.
Credit: Westchester County Historical Society
A family is seen on the original 1841 masonry section of the Old Croton Dam in 1955 after a storm required the lowering of water in the New Croton Reservoir for inspection purposes. The 1842 curved spillway is seen to the left.
Credit: Jervis Public Library, Rome, NY
An early design drawing, unused for the Croton Dam, showed a heavy timber frame on the face of the masonry dam, covered by wood planks. The gatehouse design shown seems to accurately represent what was built.
Credit: Jervis Public Library, Rome, NY
Drawings from the 1846 T. Schramke book show the Croton Dam gatehouse intake and arrangement of regulating gates within. All the gates were operated manually by turned handles a]ached to heavy screw mechanisms in order to control the amount of water entering the aqueduct tunnel.
Credit: Jervis Public Library-‐Rome, NY
Drawings from the 1846 T. Schramke book show a cutaway side view of the Croton Dam gatehouse with two sets of control gates as well as an overhead view showing the bellmouth shape used to funnel water into 7 ½ feet wide aqueduct tunnel from the wider chamber of the gatehouse.
Theophilus Schramke, as a draughtsman on the Croton Aqueduct project, was very familiar with all aspects of it. His book, available free from a digital search on Hathitrust or Archive.org, is an excellent physical description of all components of the Aqueduct.
Credit: Library of Congress
Art by well known 19th century painter and lithographer, Robert Havell, portrays an early view of the Croton Dam in a book by Charles King, Description of the New York Croton Aqueduct, 1843. It is a view of both masonry sections of the Croton Dam from downstream, showing entrance entablature and gatehouse.
Credit: Jervis Public Library-‐Rome, NY
A detailed watercolor drawing of the arrangement of manually operated regulating gates and their various parts within the Croton dam gatehouse. See additional gate design drawings on the “Important Elements” exhibit panel.
The description of the “wild region” of the Croton Dam and reservoir by F.B. Tower of the engineer department in 1843, from his book, Illustrations of the Croton Aqueduct.
Croton Water Commissioners report of January 14, 1842 describing the planned masonry extension of the Croton Dam after a disastrous flood in January of 1841.