Today is the 172nd anniversary of the Croton Water Celebration, when what we now call the Old Croton Aqueduct opened to public use on October 14, 1842. The day-long celebration included a massive seven-mile-long parade, songs written and performed for the occasion, and culminated in jets of pure, sparkling water rising fifty feet in the air from the Croton Fountain in City Hall Park.1
To celebrate the anniversary we’ve assembled a group of artifacts produced to commemorate that great day. Some have appeared in previous posts and others are featured here for the first time.
Click the first image to start the slideshow (and don’t miss the list of previous posts about the Croton Water Celebration at the bottom of the page).
Cover of the sheet music of The Celebrated Croton Ode, “written at the request of the Corporation of the city of New-York by George P. Morris, Esq. and sung in front of the park fountain by Mrs. Strong, Miss J. Pearson, Mr. J. Pearson, and the members of the N.Y. Sacred Music Society, on the completion of the Croton Aqueduct., October 14th, 1842.”
Detail showing the Croton Water Celebration parade.
Detail showing the Croton Water Celebration parade.
Detail showing the Croton Water Celebration parade.
Detail showing the Croton Water Celebration parade.
A commemorative ribbon for the New-York Sacred Music Society, the group that sang George Pope Morris’ Croton Ode.
A clock with a painting on glass of the Croton Fountain in City Hall Park.
Sheet music of the Croton Jubilee Quickstep, composed by Lewis H. von Vultee. The image is the Croton Fountain in City Hall Park
Sheet music for “From Mountain Heights & Vallies Green . . . commemorative of the introduction of the Croton water into the city of New York, 1842, dedicated to the Temperance Societies of the United States.” Music by John Willis, words by Jonas B. Phillips.
The front page of the Dollar Weekly, October 22, 1842, featuring a rare wood engraving of the parade and other Croton Aqueduct-related images.
The 16-inch long woodcut of the parade was engraved in three sections and bolted together.
A detail from the parade woodcut.
A detail from the parade woodcut.
A detail from the parade woodcut.
Wood engraving of the Croton Fountain in City Hall Park from the Dollar Weekly.
Wood engraving of the Distributing Reservoir (today the location of the main branch of the New York Public Library and Bryant Park) from the Dollar Weekly.
The design of one side of a commemorative medal made for the occasion. This image is taken from A Memoir of the Construction, Cost, and Capacity of the Croton Aqueduct … by Charles King, New York: Printed by Charles King, 1843.
The other side of the design for a commemorative medal made for the occasion. This image is taken from A Memoir of the Construction, Cost, and Capacity of the Croton Aqueduct … by Charles King, New York: Printed by Charles King, 1843.
One of the commemorative medals made for the occasion.
One of the commemorative medals made for the occasion.
Previous posts about the Croton Water Celebration:
CROTON 
FANTASTIC info….shared on Facebook. Thanks so much.