Map Showing The Waterworks Systems of Long Island, A.C. Veatch, cartographer, 1903; The Ridgewood Reservoir was the nexus of the City of Brooklyn’s water supply system. It was where the water entered the distribution mains that delivered the precious asset to homes and businesses. Waterworks came from reservoirs and wells to the east flowing within the Brooklyn Aqueduct to the City of Brooklyn’s water distribution network to the west. Only the western portion of the map, from Brooklyn to the Nassau-Suffolk County border, is shown here. Brooklyn’s quest for water, extended as far east as Massapequa at the eastern edge of Nassau County, and would have continued further east into Suffolk County. However, in 1896, Suffolk County which was opposed to this expansion, lobbied for the passage of a State law preventing Brooklyn from tapping its groundwater. Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey
Aerial Map Overview of New York City showing the Ridgewood Reservoir straddling the Brooklyn-Queens border. Courtesy of dcap, David Cunningham Architecture Planning
Aerial Map Overview of New York City showing the Ridgewood Reservoir straddling the Brooklyn-Queens border. Courtesy of dcap, David Cunningham Architecture Planning
Map of Kings and Queens Counties, Matthew Dripps, 1852; In 1854, the City of Brooklyn consolidated with the City of Williamsburg and the Town of Bushwick to pool their resources so that they could build a clean and reliable water system. The 1852 Dripps map shows Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Bushwick as separate municipalities; the 1873 Beers map (next image) shows them united; as well as showing two other independent municipalities in Kings County, Flatbush and Gravesend, and presents the line of the Brooklyn Aqueduct extending to Hempstead. Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Brendan Clinch, b. 1985, Port Jefferson, NY; Inside the Brooklyn Aqueduct, 2016 - Courtesy of Brendan Clinch
George Bradford Brainerd American, 1845-1887; Reproduction of collodion silver glass wet plate negative, July 23, 1874; Old pumping station showing the Engine House from its eastern end; The station was built in 1859. Brainerd was the Deputy Water Purveyor of the City of Brooklyn from 1869 to 1886, and an accomplished amateur photographer. Courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection
Pumping Station for West Basin, built 1891; photograph circa 1910; In 1891, an additional pumping station was built to pump water into the west basin which had a capacity of 150 million gallons, nearly equal to the other two basins combined. --- Courtesy of NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Steam engine at Ridgewood Reservoir pumping station, circa 1895; Courtesy of NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 13,1900; Courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library, HathiTrust, and Michael Miscione
Puck Magazine, January 18, 1893; Courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library, HathiTrust, and Michael Miscione