[5] To meet escalating water needs, the Aqueduct Commission of the City of New York ordered construction of a new Croton system in 1885.

[6] The proposed dam and reservoir were to cover 20 square miles (52 km2) of land occupied by public and private buildings, six cemeteries, and more than 400 farms.

[2] Condemnation disputes led to "protests, lawsuits, and confusion" before payment of claims and the awarding of construction contracts.

John B. Goldsborough, superintendent of excavations and hiring for the project, also recruited stonemasons from southern Italy, who re-located to New York.

[2] Building the dam meant diverting the river from its normal path and pumping the riverbed dry.

To accomplish this, workers dug a crescent-shaped canal 1,000 feet (300 m) long and 200 feet (61 m) wide in the hill on the north side of the river, secured the canal with a masonry retaining wall, and built temporary dams to control the water flow.

Teatown Lake Reservation, a nature preserve, lies nearby as does Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson.