The Old Croton Aqueduct is a brick and stone conduit built between 1837 and 1842 to carry water from the Croton River into New York City. Because it is a gravity flow system, a gradual decline had to be maintained throughout its forty-one mile length. Its major features in Westchester County included the Old Croton Dam and the Sing Sing Kill Bridge, with double arches, and Weir Chamber in Ossining. Its main structures in New York City were the High Bridge over the Harlem River, a large embankment crossing the Glendinning Valley at 98th, 99th, and 100th Streets, the Receiving Reservoir in Central Park, and the Distributing Reservoir, now the site of the New York Public Library. None of its features remain in Manhattan. The aqueduct continued to serve New York City until 1995 and Westchester communities until 1965, and part of Ossining's water needs are served today by a section of it. The Old Croton Dam is gone, flooded by waters impounded by the New Croton Dam. The Sing Sing Kill Bridge and Weir Chamber are still accessible in Ossining, the overseer's house still stands in Dobbs Ferry, and High Bridge still spans the Harlem River. The Old Croton Aqueduct from the Old Croton Dam to Yonkers, 26.2 miles, was acquired by the State in 1968 and designated as a State Park. Much of it is now accessible as a walking, cycling, and equestrian trail. It was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior in 1992 and also selected as part of the Hudson River Greenway.
