How New York City Buried a Reservoir Beneath Central Park Without a Single Machine
Forgotten Labor
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In 1832, 3,516 New Yorkers died of cholera. Three years later, the city burned because there wasn't enough water to stop it. What happened next was one of the most ambitious engineering projects in American history — and almost nobody knows it happened.
This is the story of how 4,000 Irish immigrant laborers hand-dug a 41-mile brick tunnel through the hills of Westchester County to bring clean water to New York City. No machines. No compressed air. No safety equipment. Just picks, shovels, black powder, and 75 cents a day. They built the High Bridge — still the oldest bridge in New York City. They built the reservoir that became Central Park's Great Lawn. They built a system that has been delivering water to New York for 183 years without stopping. Most of their names were never recorded. Some of them are buried along the line of the aqueduct they built. The tunnel is still there, still intact, still under Westchester County right now. And the city they saved has largely forgotten them.
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#CrotonAqueduct #NewYorkHistory #AmericanHistory #CivilEngineering #IrishImmigrants #CentralPark #HighBridge #InfrastructureHistory #ForgottenHistory #LaborHistory
11 Comments
I'd like to add that, in addition to the largely anonymous Irish laborers, were the many people who were run off their properties to accommodate the aquaduct.
And yes, the Highbridge walk is worth it. It's also really cool to drive under the Aquaduct on the Major Deegan at night. The Aquaduct towers above you and is lit up in a neat way.
I’m sorry if this hurts this channel but the truth needs to be told. .
How New York City Buried a Reservoir Beneath Central Park Without a Single Machine
Forgotten Labor
10,700 views
In 1832, 3,516 New Yorkers died of cholera. Three years later, the city burned because there wasn't enough water to stop it. What happened next was one of the most ambitious engineering projects in American history — and almost nobody knows it happened.
This is the story of how 4,000 Irish immigrant laborers hand-dug a 41-mile brick tunnel through the hills of Westchester County to bring clean water to New York City. No machines. No compressed air. No safety equipment. Just picks, shovels, black powder, and 75 cents a day. They built the High Bridge — still the oldest bridge in New York City. They built the reservoir that became Central Park's Great Lawn. They built a system that has been delivering water to New York for 183 years without stopping. Most of their names were never recorded. Some of them are buried along the line of the aqueduct they built. The tunnel is still there, still intact, still under Westchester County right now. And the city they saved has largely forgotten them.
Subscribe to Forgotten Labor — we tell the stories nobody else will.
#CrotonAqueduct #NewYorkHistory #AmericanHistory #CivilEngineering #IrishImmigrants #CentralPark #HighBridge #InfrastructureHistory #ForgottenHistory #LaborHistory