HISTORY & MYSTERIES
Here are ads for three Croton "road houses" from the June 12, 1921 issue of the New-York Tribune. They were part of a full page ad for Westchester hotels and restaurants that appeared under a banner reading "Westchester County, the Motorist's Playground, 900 Miles of Good Roads." It's hard to imagine what driving was like … Continue reading The Motorist’s Playground
Clifford B. Harmon was a master of real estate marketing. He was responsible for 256 subdivisions in 26 cities in the United States during the early 20th century, including the section of Croton that was originally called Harmon-on-Hudson. Here are a selection of newspaper ads for Harmon-on-Hudson, telling us that "All New York is Amazed!" at the "Quickest and … Continue reading Selling Harmon
This 1906 plan of the downstream elevation, prepared by the New York City Aqueduct Commission, comes from the Historic American Engineering Record collection of the Library of Congress. The collection includes a large number of photographs and plans documenting the New Croton Dam and the Aqueduct. The record for this specific item is here. Click … Continue reading New Croton Dam, 1906
This detailed engraving shows the New Croton Dam when it was under construction in 1896. The image was commissioned for the cover of the October 17th issue of Scientific American magazine to accompany an article entitled "New York Water Supply—Present Condition of Work on the Great Croton River Dam." Christopher Tompkins, author of The Croton Dams … Continue reading New Croton Dam Construction, 1896
This image of the Croton Reservoir in Central Park is from a stereoview, taken as part of Deloss Barnum's "Views in Central Park" series. Barnum, who during his career was referred to by several variant names, was a photographer in Boston and New York in the mid-19th century. This rare stereoview is currently for sale on eBay, and the … Continue reading Croton Reservoir, circa 1865
This detailed Civil War period map of Croton Point is but a small detail of a magnificent 4 sheet, hand-colored map of the Hudson River, produced by the United States Coast Survey from 1861 to 1865. Kaaterskill Books, which offers fine, rare, and unusual books in a variety of fields, is offering this map for … Continue reading Croton Point, 1865
This map is from the 1924 Report of the Westchester County Park Commission, published during a period in which the Westchester park and parkway system was being greatly expanded. Thanks to the Oechsner Archive for this vintage map.
These photos are from the 1924 Report of the Westchester County Park Commission, published a year after the county acquired the land. The history of recreational use of Croton Point is described on the Westchester.gov website: Organized recreational use of Croton Point began about 1900 when Judge Decker of Croton leased the beach area and … Continue reading Croton Point, 1924
Details of the Croton area in 1908 from the Atlas of the rural country district north of New York City embracing the entire Westchester County, New York . . . Compiled from maps on file and surveyors notes and data, maps from actual surveys furnished by individual owners & final field observations by our own … Continue reading Croton Area in 1908
Detail of the Croton area from Colton's Map of the County of Westchester. Drawn, Engraved and Published by G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co. 182 William St. New York. 1886. The entire map is available online at David Rumsey Map Collection.
CROTON 