The Great Freshet of 1841 — The Day That Changed the Croton River Forever Source: https://www.crotonfriendsofhistory.org/the-great-freshet In early January 1841, eighteen inches of snow covered the Croton area with record cold temperatures. Beginning January 5th, conditions shifted dramatically. Temperatures rose rapidly and heavy rain commenced. By the night of the 7th, melting snow combined wi…

As this surge passed through the narrow Croton River Gorge, it reached heights of fifty feet before gushing into the Hudson River. From the Hudson River Chronicle, January 12, 1841: The water above the dam, covering a space of about 600 acres, continued to rise at the rate of about one foot an hour, until it reached the astonishing height of seventeen feet above the tumble. About four o'clock on F…

William Evans and Robert Smith were overtaken in their flight, obliged to ascend a cedar of smaller size, which was borne down by the water, ice, and floating timber into the current, and they were carried away amid their unavailing cries for assistance. Their bodies were not found. The accumulated waters dashed furiously onward along the valley of the Croton to its mouth, a distance of about thre…