page_title: Rosendale, New York
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rosendale, New York / History
caption_attribution_description: Rosendale, Scale 200 Rods to the inch, Part of Hurley Patent Creek Locks, Town of Rosendale, Scale 25 Rods to the inch English: Scanned page of an atlas of Ulster County, New York prepared by F. W. Beers and first published in 1875.
context_page_description: Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village Rosendale, New York primarily centered around Main Street but was dissolved through vote in 1977. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: At the time of the European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Lenapes who were a member of the Algonquian peoples. The area which was eventually known as Rosendale is generally attributed to being founded by Jacob Rutsen in 1680 from 600 acres purchased from the Lenapes straddling the Rondout Creek. Initially the land was leased but Rutsen expanded his holdings and built a homestead which he resided in from 1700 to his death in 1730. The Town of Rosendale was formed in 1844 from parts of the Towns of Hurley, Marbletown, and New Paltz.
  The following is a description of the town circa 1870:
  ROSENDALE was formed from Marbletown, New Paltz and Hurley, April 26, 1844. It is an interior town, lying east of the center of the County. The surface is a rolling and broken upland, the highest summits being from 200 to 500 feet above the valleys. Rondout Creek flows north-east through the town near the center, receiving Coxingkill from the south, and Cottlekill from the north. The Delaware and Hudson Canal extends along the Rondout Creek. The soil is chiefly a sandy loam. In the north-west part of the town are several small lakes, called the Binnewaters. Cement is extensively manufactured throughout the town. The Wallkill Valley R.R. extends through the whole length of the town. In the south-west part are three caves, in a ledge of rocks of the Shawangunk Mountains, where ice is found at all times of the year.
  Rosendale. (p.v.) situated on the creek and canal, near the center of the town, contains three churches, viz., Reformed, Baptist and Roman Catholic; two hotels, two stores, a school, two blacksmith shops, three wagon shoes, an undertaker, coal yard, a harness shop, a shoe shop, two milliners, a meat market, a cement kiln and about 550 inhabitants. The W.V. R.R. crosses the creek at this place on a bridge 900 feet long and 140 feet above the water.
  Lawrenceville, named in honor of Mr. Watson E. Lawrence, is situated on the creek, about a mile above Rosendale, and contains two cement manufactories and about 400 inhabitants.
  The Rosendale Cement Company's Mills at this place, have a capacity for manufacturing about 350 barrels daily, and give employment to about 60 men. This is the pioneer company in the manufacture of cement, and was established by Mr. Watson E. Lawrence, who now resides in New York.
  Lawrenceville Cement Co. have a capacity for manufacturing about 125,000 barrels each season, giving employment to about 130 men. The mills are on the Delaware and Hudson Canal.
  Bruceville, in the west part of the town, on Rondout Creek, about two and a half miles from Rosendale, contains a store, a cement mill and fifteen dwellings.
  The Bruceville Cement Manufactory makes about 30,000 barrels each season, and gives employment to about 35 hands. The mills have a capacity for about 300 barrels per day. James H. Van Demark is the proprietor.
  A mineral spring at this place receives some patronage.
  Rosendale Plains is a hamlet about one and a fourth miles south of Rosendale, and contains a hotel, a blacksmith shop, a trotting course and ten dwellings.
  LeFevre Falls, (p.v.) formerly known as Rock Lock, is situated about a mile below Rosendale, and contains a store, three hotels, two cement manufactories and about thirty dwellings.
  The New York Cement Company, at this place, manufacture about 500 barrels of cement per day and about 100,000 barrels during the season.
  Martin & Clearwater's Cement Works have a capacity for making 80,000 barrels per season, and give employment to about one hundred men.
  Whiteport, in the north-east part of the town, is about four miles north from Rosendale, and about the same distance south-west of Rondout. It contains the Newark & Rosendale Lime and Cement Works and a population of about 1,500, including what is known as Hickory Bush. The village has been built up almost wholly by the Cement Works. They manufacture about 800 barrels per day, and have a capacity for 1,000 barrels. The barrels are all made here and their cement is transported to tide water over a horse railroad. They employ about 180 m
caption: Rosendale in 1875
exif: {}