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The Ashokan Reservoir (Native American for place of fish) is a reservoir in Ulster County, New York. The reservoir is in the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several reservoirs created to provide the City of New York with water. However, it is one of only two reservoirs in the Catskill Watershed. It is also New York City's deepest reservoir, being over 190 feet (58.5 m) deep at its deepest point. This site is near the dam at the former site of Bishop Falls. ==History== New York City turned to the Catskills for water in the early 20th century after discovering that a group of speculators calling itself the Ramapo Water Company had bought up riparian rights to many water sources further south in Rockland, Orange and Ulster counties. The Catskills were more desirable, as state-owned Forest Preserve land in the region could not, under the state constitution, be sold to any other party. A recent amendment to that section of the state constitution also allowed up to 3% of the total Forest Preserve land to be flooded for reservoirs. In 1905 the New York State Legislature enacted legislation that created the New York City Board of Water Supply and allowed the city to acquire lands and build dams, reservoirs and aqueducts in the Catskills.〔("History of the NYC Water supply", Catskill Watershed Corporation )〕 Local opponents of the reservoir cast doubt on its soundness, saying it could never hold enough water (it would be one of the largest reservoirs in the world at the time),〔(Loftin, A.J. "The Ashokan Reservoir", ''Hudson Valley Magazine'', July 17, 2008 )〕 but when it was filled from 1912 to 1914, they were silenced. Residents of the area to be flooded did not take kindly to the idea, and fought eminent domain proceedings bitterly. They were aided by local lawyers familiar with the checkered history of Catskill land claims. It would be 1940 when the last were settled. The Ashokan Reservoir was constructed between 1907 and 1915, by the New York City Board of Water Supply, by impounding the Esopus Creek.〔 Thousands of acres of farmland were submerged.〔 The impoundment covered twelve communities located in a valley where farming, logging, and quarrying prevailed. Approximately two thousand residents〔 along with roads, homes, shops, farms, churches, and mills were either moved or abandoned, but most of them were torn down. According to Bob Steuding, a humanities professor at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, the area that became the West Basin of the reservoir contained 504 dwellings, nine blacksmith shops, 35 stores, 10 churches, 10 schools, seven sawmills and a gristmill.〔 Several of these communities were re-established in nearby locations. 12.45 miles (20 km) of a local railroad line (the Ulster and Delaware Railroad) was moved and cemeteries were relocated. The dam was constructed mainly by local laborers, as well as African-Americans and Italian immigrants, who also did the job of razing most of the trees and buildings in the area. Fights would often break out in the labor camps where the crews would eat and sleep, so a police force, which would later become the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) Police, was established to keep peace in the camps. The dam was constructed with Rosendale cement, which at the time was the world's strongest cement. When the dam was completed, giant steam whistles blew for one hour, signaling to people in the valley to evacuate immediately. Some relocated communities survive along the reservoir's banks, such as West Shokan, Olivebridge, Ashokan and Shokan. Most, however, such as Brown's Station, are remembered in historical markers along routes 28 and 28A. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ashokan Reservoir」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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