Construction on a New Croton Dam began in 1892. In 1900, the workers (primarily Italian immigrants, Irish immigrants and African-Americans) constructing the dam went on strike to protest unfair wages. The New York State National Guard was called in to protect replacement workers and violence ensued.[2]
In 1906, the New Croton Dam was completed, expanding the existing impoundment into the New Croton Reservoir, then the largest in the Croton Watershed, and thus one of the largest in the New York City water supply system to that point. It has a 57 square mile (148 km2) drainage basin,[3] is approximately 9 miles (14 km) long, and can hold 19 billion US gallons (72,000,000 m3) of water at full capacity.