The Taking of Cannonsville
Not a tree was left standing. Every house, barn, business, church and school that remained was demolished or burned to the ground. At night fires glowed eerily throughout the smoke-filled valley. During the day bulldozers finished off whatever stone walls, chimneys and smoldering timbers remained. Trucks hauled away human remains disinterred from cemeteries and family graveyards. A century after his death Benjamin Cannon literally rolled in his grave. Today, his village of Cannonsville lies a hundred feet under New York City’s drinking water.
This program tells the story of Cannonsville – the Community, the Taking and the Reservoir. It includes vintage images of life in Cannonsville before “the Taking,” and several rare photographs of the dam, reservoir and tunnels while under construction.