]
Destructive as the fire was, however, it called attention to the fact
that there was a woful lack of water in the city. Most of the water was
still supplied by the wells and springs which had been sufficient for
a small town, but were by no means so for a city of the present size. It
was now that the idea of bringing a large supply of water from without
the city was conceived. The plan was to build an artificial course, or
aqueduct, for water, from the Croton River, forty miles and more above
the city. Many thought that this was not possible, but then other
seemingly impossible things had been accomplished, so they pushed ahead
and commenced the building of this work. A dam was thrown across the
Croton River, forming a lake five miles long. The aqueduct extended from
this dam to the city. Sometimes it had to be cut through the solid rock;
sometimes it was continued underground by tunnel; sometimes over valleys
by embankments, until at last it reached the Harlem River where a stone
bridge, called the High Bridge, was built to support it. Through this
channel of solid masonry the water was brought into the city, and when
it reached the Island of Manhattan was distributed in pipes over the
entire city.
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