Contact/Mailing List Directions Links MISSION NEWS! Photos Support Us Testimonials Opportunities
The Ashokan Center occupies a special place in the Catskills,
and in the lives of millions of people who depend on the New York City water supply.
|
The Center is located just to the south of the massive Ashokan Reservoir, the giant lake you will cross to get here. The reservoir is a beautiful sight, its calm waters ringed by a dozen mountains, including Slide Mountain, highest in the Catskills at 4,200 feet. You might think this lake is a natural part of the landscape, but it has not always been here. |
|
The reservoir, the first of six to be built by New York City in the Catskills, was constructed between 1907 and 1915. Before the Olive Bridge Dam was built across the Esopus Creek, 12 communities and 2,000 people occupied this valley. Try to imagine homes, farms, businesses, churches, schools and mills all going about life up and down the 12-mile-long valley, with trains carrying freight and passengers from town to town. As the great City to the south grew and needed more and more water, the people in the Esopus Valley had to move to make way for the reservoir that would capture rain, snow and mountain streams for the thirsty millions. |
|
|
Now try to imagine hundreds of workers, many speaking Italian, Russian or Polish, building the heavy stone dam and dikes, and the long arched bridge that carries you across the water. Imagine men operating steam shovels, driving mule teams, demolishing houses and cutting down trees to clear the reservoir basin. While these men worked above the ground, hundreds more worked below ground, digging and blasting the Catskill Aqueduct, a concrete tube that still carries Ashokan water to the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester County, and down to the City 100 miles away. |
|
The Ashokan Center was once a farm followed by a series of mills at Winchell's Falls. New York City claimed this land in order to build a release channel for the reservoir. Today we offer a special Watershed Program that helps explain the New York City Water System, the sacrifices that were made to create it, the importance of clean water and the role of upstate residents in protecting this vital resource for our downstate neighbors. |
For a brief over view of the history of the New York City Water System in the Catskills:
http://www.cwconline.org/about/ab_hist.html
OTHER LINKS
CWC education page for grant info:
http://www.cwconline.org/programs/pub_edu/pe.html
Catskill-New York City Watershed Educators Network
(resources and connections for teachers)
http://www.watersheducators.org
NYC DEP education page
http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/environmental_education/index.shtml