Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2026

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Data Analysis & Visualization

Advisor

David S. Reynolds

Subject Categories

Digital Humanities | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Statistical Models | United States History | Vital and Health Statistics

Keywords

Five Points, quantitative history, urban reform, sanitary reform, environmental history, digital humanities

Abstract

This work reexamines the Croton Aqueduct’s role in public health by shifting analysis from the citywide level to the ward level, revealing that infrastructure expansion did not produce uniform benefits across New York City. When the Croton Aqueduct opened in 1842, it was celebrated as an achievement that would deliver pure water and eliminate disease. However, only seven years after its opening, in 1849, cholera returned with greater force in the Sixth Ward. This work shows that the uneven distribution of Croton infrastructure corresponded with uneven cholera mortality rates, challenging narratives that present Croton as a singular triumph of urban reform.

A manually constructed ward-level dataset compiled from municipal records, census data, newspaper sources, and historical maps, was used for analyses. Ordinary least squares regression and k-means clustering were performed to assess whether differences in population density, sewer infrastructure, and Croton water distribution corresponded to measurable differences in cholera mortality across wards in 1849. Results indicate that wards, such as the Sixth, characterized by higher population density, weaker sewer infrastructure, and lower Croton water penetration experienced higher cholera mortality rates, with hydrant density emerging as the variable most associated with reduced mortality. Archival research, informed by what the ward-level analysis uncovered, reveals that this uneven distribution was the product of a financing model that excluded the poor, a corrupt political system, and absentee landlords. Contemporary scientific understanding further compounded these failures, attributing cholera vulnerability to moral failings and intemperance rather than environmental exposure, concealing the structural causes of uneven mortality. Furthermore, archival evidence demonstrates that even where Croton infrastructure existed, both quantity of water supplied and the reach of its distribution were insufficient to support the needs of the population.

The findings are examined through a microhistorical lens, inspired by John Snow’s 1854 cholera investigation in London as a model for understanding how neighborhood-scale analysis can uncover patterns hidden within citywide data. This approach directs the analysis to the Sixth Ward and the residents within it, restoring names to the mortality counts and uncovering the environmental hazards that aggregate numbers alone cannot capture. Croton’s promise did not reach everyone equally, and understanding why and who was left behind requires looking not at the city as a whole, but ward by ward.

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