text:
Lloyd, New York

Lloyd is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 11,133 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New York City combined statistical area.

The town of Lloyd is located in the eastern part of Ulster County. U.S. Route 9W runs north and south in the eastern part of the town. The concurrent U.S. Route 44 and NY 55 pass through the southeastern corner of the town. NY 299 also runs east–west across town. Lloyd is on the opposite side of the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie, New York, to which it is linked by the Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway over the Hudson.

History
The town of Lloyd was formed from the town of New Paltz, New York. It was created by an act of the New York State Legislature on April 15, 1845; the first town meeting was held three weeks later, on May 6. The first town officials were selected, including town supervisor Reuben Deyo, justices of the peace Silas Saxton, John B. Howell, and John L. Deyo, with Hasbrouck Lefevre as town clerk.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 sqmi, of which 31.7 sqmi is land and 1.6 sqmi  (4.91%) is water.

The eastern town line, marked by the Hudson River, is the border of Dutchess County, New York. Swarte Kill marks the western border of the town, dividing Lloyd from New Paltz.

The lowest point in the town is the shore of the Hudson River, which is at sea level. The highest point is the summit of Illinois Mountain, at 1,125 feet (343 m). Illinois Mountain is part of the Marlboro Mountains, which bisect the town from north to south.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,941 people, 3,626 households, and 2,429 families residing in the town. The population density was 313.3 PD/sqmi. There were 3,818 housing units at an average density of 120.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 90.29% White, 5.22% African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.07% of the population.

There were 3,626 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,686, and the median income for a family was $61,584. Males had a median income of $40,774 versus $30,286 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,299. About 5.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2010 census, there were 10,863 people in the town. The racial makeup was 86.1% White, 6.4 African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.3%.

Government
The town's government is made up of a supervisor, four council members, two justices, a highway superintendent, a clerk, and a tax collector.

Communities and locations in Lloyd

 * Centerville – a hamlet formerly located near the intersection of Pancake Hollow Rd and New Paltz Rd
 * Chodikee Lake – small lake near the northern town line, off the former Camp Stutts Rd.
 * Clintondale Station – a hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on what is now Station Rd.
 * Elting Corners – hamlet west of Highland on Route 299
 * Franny Reese State Park – park adjacent to the Hudson River
 * Highland – hamlet in the southeastern part of the town on Route 9W
 * Highland Landing – locale southeast of Highland, by the Hudson River
 * Illinois Mountain, highest point in town and location of water reservoirs and outdoor recreation
 * Oakes – locale in the southeastern part of the town

title: Lloyd, New York


text:
Malden, New York

Malden-on-Hudson (-), commonly known as Malden, is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 365 at the 2020 census.

The community of Malden is in the eastern part of the Town of Saugerties, north of the Village of Saugerties. There is a public boat launch on the Hudson River that is often used by the Malden Yacht Club, a group of local kayakers.

Geography
Malden is located at 42.09333°N, -73.93472°W (42.093279, -73.934804).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.5 sqmi, all land.

The community is on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 413 people, 153 households, and 106 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 813.3 PD/sqmi. There were 174 housing units at an average density of 342.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.95% White, 1.94% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 1.45% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.12% of the population.

There were 153 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,438, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $33,558 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,962. About 6.4% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 27.0% of those age 65 or over.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Malden, New York


text:
Marbletown, New York

Marbletown is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,658 at the 2020 census. It is located near the center of Ulster County, southwest of the City of Kingston. US 209 and NY 213 pass through the town. It is at the eastern edge of the Catskill Park.

History
The area was settled around 1638, and received its patent (to Henry Beekman, Thomas Garton, and Charles Brodhead) in 1703. The community of Marbletown once served briefly as the state capital, after the city of Kingston was burned by the British during the American Revolutionary War. Part of Marbletown was used in 1823 to form the Town of Olive and another part was used in 1844 to form the Town of Rosendale. The town of Marbletown was formed in 1788.

The Bevier Stone House, Rest Plaus Historic District, Cornelius Wynkoop Stone House and Mohonk Mountain House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 55.2 sqmi, of which 54.6 sqmi is land and 0.6 sqmi  (1.11%) is water.

The Rondout Creek and Esopus Creek flow through the town.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,854 people, 2,386 households, and 1,598 families residing in the town. The population density was 107.3 PD/sqmi. There were 2,846 housing units at an average density of 52.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 95.46% white, 1.38% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.

There were 2,386 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,250, and the median income for a family was $54,085. Males had a median income of $40,640 versus $30,130 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,962. About 4.4% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Marbletown

 * Atwood – a hamlet on Route 213, west of Lomontville.
 * High Falls – a hamlet in the eastern area of the town (part of which is in the town of Rosendale).
 * Kripplebush – a hamlet near the southern town line. The Kripplebush Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
 * Lapla – a hamlet in the northern part of the town.
 * Lomontville – a hamlet northeast of Stone Ridge.
 * Lyonsville – a hamlet near the southern town line, west of Kripplebush.
 * Pacama – a hamlet in the northern part of the town.
 * Stone Ridge – a location south of Marbletown village on Route 209
 * The Vly – a hamlet in the western part of the town.

Notable people

 * Natalie Merchant, singer/songwriter
 * Aidan Quinn, actor
 * Bruce Morrow, radio personality/actor
 * Rick Danko, musician
 * Julia Roberts, actress sold her estate in 2009
 * Leona Helmsley, businesswoman
 * Rachel Weisz, actress
 * Steve Buscemi, actor
 * Willem Dafoe, actor
 * Peter Buffett, musician and philanthropist
 * Melissa Leo, actress
 * Father Divine, minister and founder of the International Peace Mission movement
 * Romeo Earl Muller, Jr., an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, and Frosty the Snowman
 * Dennis Crowley, entrepreneur

title: Marbletown, New York


text:
Marlboro, New York

Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2020 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the county.

History
The community was the site of the first settlement in the town, around 1697. The Chapel Hill Bible Church, Christ Episcopal Church, Dubois-Sarles Octagon, Elliot–Buckley House, and Shady Brook Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Marlboro is also the location of the Gomez Mill House, an historical site which is the oldest Jewish residence in Ulster County. It was additionally the first paper mill in Ulster County.

Geography
Marlboro is located at 41.60472°N, -73.97472°W (41.604693, -73.974822).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.3 sqmi, of which 2.8 sqmi is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km2, or 17.61%) is water.

The community is on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,339 people, 926 households, and 605 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 846.3 PD/sqmi. There were 981 housing units at an average density of 354.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.68% White, 1.84% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.81% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.96% of the population.

There were 926 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,073, and the median income for a family was $52,688. Males had a median income of $37,788 versus $28,542 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,123. About 10.9% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Rob Bell - Former Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays
 * Brian Benben - actor; star of Dream On on HBO.
 * Dee Brown - Former Major League Baseball player for the Kansas City Royals
 * Tom Cornell - journalist and peace activist.
 * Wade Davis - Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies
 * John Esposito - Jazz pianist. Graduated from Marlboro High School June 1971. Teaches at Bard College.
 * John M. Falcone - Police officer in Poughkeepsie, NY. Killed in the line of duty in February 2011.
 * Scott Lobdell - Comic book writer and screenwriter.
 * Nicole Polizzi - person known as "Snooki" on MTV's reality television series Jersey Shore.

title: Marlboro, New York


text:
Marlborough, New York

Marlborough is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the southeastern corner of the county. The population was 8,712 at the 2020 census. U.S. Route 9W passes through the eastern part of the town. US Route 44 and NY 55 cross the northwestern corner of the town. The town was named after the Duke of Marlborough.

History
A land grant (patent) of the territory was made to Captain John Evans of the Royal Navy in 1694. One of his first settlers arrived in 1697.

The region was part of the Newburgh Precinct and was set apart in 1772. The Town of Marlborough was formed in 1788 during a period of town formation in the county. Part of the town was used to create the town of Plattekill in 1800.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.5 sqmi, of which 24.8 sqmi is land and 1.7 sqmi  (6.3%) is water.

The eastern town line, marked by the Hudson River is the border of Dutchess County, and the southern town line is the border of Orange County. The western border of the town closely parallels the Marlboro Mountain ridge, dividing Marlborough from the town of Plattekill.

The lowest point in the town is the shore of the Hudson River, which is at sea level. The highest point is the summit of Marlboro Mountain, at 1,127 feet (344 m).

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,263 people, 3,020 households, and 2,144 families residing in the town. The population density was 332.8 PD/sqmi. There were 3,176 housing units at an average density of 127.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 94.48% white, 2.82% African American, .19% Native American, .33% Asian, .01% Pacific Islander, .84% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.98% of the population.

There were 3,020 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,788, and the median income for a family was $56,933. Males had a median income of $38,074 versus $29,608 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,079. About 5.8% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Marlborough

 * Baileys Gap – a hamlet at the northern town line on Route 44.
 * Central – a location west of Milton.
 * Marlboro – this hamlet is in the southeastern part of the town on Route 9W.
 * Milton – this hamlet is in the northeastern part of the town on Route 9W, adjacent to the Hudson River.
 * Lattintown – a hamlet in the western part of the town on Route 11. The Lattingtown Baptist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

title: Marlborough, New York


text:
Milton, Ulster County, New York

Milton is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census. The locale was named after John Milton, an English poet.

The community of Milton is located in the northeastern part of the town of Marlborough.

History
Captain William Bond was the first settler of record in the area of Milton, having obtained a patent from Queen Anne on June 12, 1712, which patent reserved the right to any trees fit for masts, planks, or otherwise suitable for her majesty's navy. Although Bond followed the sea, he served as deputy surveyor in Marlborough in 1717. Edward Hallock was a seafaring man who owned several vessels, all but one being destroyed by French cruisers. He and his family relocated from Long Island to Milton in late December 1760, and subsequently purchased land from Captain Bond's daughter Sukie. Hallock was a preacher in the Society of Friends.

In 1770 Captain Anning Smith constructed a small square dock on the river, where he built a wooden mill. The road leading to it, called the King's highway, was one of the first roads opened for the settlers living farther inland. Around 1845 the "old dock" came into possession of investors from Poughkeepsie, who established a factory for the manufacture of pins. Sloops were built and launched near here. In 1844 Sumner Colman started a wheel-barrow factory at the pin factory dock. In 1880 Henry H. Bell, from Long Island, started a plush and glove-lining factory at the site of the old pin factory. This later expanded to include the site of the former wheelbarrow factory which had burned in 1852.

In 1802 Charles Millard had two sawmills specializing in white pine. In the summer timber arrived in rafts sent down river from Glens Falls, Fort Edward, and around Lake Champlain. In winter most of the lumber was shipped from the east side of the river hauled by teams over the ice. In 1824 Charles Millard moved across the river to New Hamburg, establishing a lumber yard there. His son Walter carried on the business on the west side. Millard and Mills' steamboat Splendid sailed daily from the Milton dock.

James Hall and Jacob Rowley ran auger factories in Milton at an early date. In 1822 Moses Birdsall ran a hat factory. Jesse I. Conklin had a general store, one of three in the village. The National Pioneer was published at Milton in 1830, by Daniel S. Tuthill. Sands and Lockwood maintained a freight line to New York. William Carpenter, whose ancestors hailed from Wales, came to Milton around 1853 from Plattekill. Carpenter practiced surveying and had a fruit farm. In 1863 L. Harrison Smith opened a coal and lumber yard at Milton landing.

The Milton Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

United Methodist
Circuit riders served the Methodists in this village as far back as 1786. Meetings were held in the home of James Perry. On November 16, 1812 the Milton M.E. Society was incorporated. A church building was erected on the former Sands property. The Milton Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist building in Ulster County. It remained a circuit station until 1858 D.W.C Van Gaasbeck became the first pastor. The Marlboro Methodists joined the Milton Methodists in 1982 to form one congregation. In 2012 the community celebrated its 200th anniversary.

St. James Roman Catholic Church
Irish Catholics began to arrive in Milton around 1850. To hear Mass they had to go by horse-boat to a place called "The Hollow" near Wappingers Falls. Some went to Poughkeepsie. In 1865 Milton became a mission of Rosendale and was attended every two or three weeks by a Father O'Toole and later by Rev. Patrick Brady. In 1867 Rev. Michael Phelan of Port Ewan purchased the old Methodist meeting house in Marlboro where Mass was said for Catholics of Marlboro and Milton. In 1874 Rev. James Francis Mee was appointed first resident pastor in Milton with missions at Marboro and Ireland Corners (otherwise known as Gardiner).

In 1882 Father Mee purchased land for a Catholic cemetery in Lattintown, interments having been made previously in a cemetery near Poughkeepsie. Upon Mee's transfer to Rye in 1886, his successor, Rev. James L. Hoey also took charge of the missions in Marlboro and Roseton. Father Richard B. Cushion served from November 1909 to May 1913. Cushion is remembered for having been particularly attentive to the needs of the Italian members of the congregation. They initially came to the area as farm laborers picking berries; many went on to become permanent farmers and fruit dealers.

In August 2015, the parish of St. James merged with St. Mary's Marboro.

Geography
The community is on the west bank of the Hudson River.

Milton is located at 41.65889°N, -73.96°W (41.658765, -73.960010).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 sqmi, of which 2.8 sqmi is land and 0.35% is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,251 people, 458 households, and 317 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 440.3 PD/sqmi. There were 481 housing units at an average density of 169.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.37% white, 3.2% African American, .16% Native American, .40% Asian, 1.44% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.76% of the population.

There were 458 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,792, and the median income for a family was $62,625. Males had a median income of $39,750 versus $31,573 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,785. About 1.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

The Fugitive Kind
In 1959, the feature film The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani, was filmed in Milton. The main street was temporarily redone to resemble an old town in the deep south. The motion picture, based on a play by Tennessee Williams, was directed by Sidney Lumet.

Notable people

 * Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), author and illustrator of short stories about the American West
 * Frank Skartados (1956–2018), New York state assemblyman
 * Warren White (1844–1890), Union Army Civil War veteran and early Major League Baseball player
 * Connie Ray, (b. 1956), television, film and stage actor

title: Milton, Ulster County, New York


text:
Napanoch, New York

Napanoch is a hamlet in Town of Wawarsing, in Ulster County, New York, United States. It is at the junction of routes 209 and 55. The population was 1,131 at the 2020 census. Napanoch is on the Shawangunk Ridge National Scenic Byway, and is part of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

History
"Napanoch" is from the Munsee dialect of the northern Lenape, and is thought to mean land overflowed by water. It is from the original deed to that area. Old Route 209 and Main Street follow the Minisink Trail, the Lenape path between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. Louis Bevier, the New Paltz patentee, bought the area for two of his sons, Jean Bevier and Abram Bevier in 1705 or 1706.

The Hoornbeek Store Complex and Ontario and Western Railroad Passenger Station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The imposing Eastern Correctional Facility was built by the state in 1900 as a reformatory. Since 1973 it has been a maximum security prison for men.

Geography
Napanoch is in the Town of Wawarsing, in Ulster County (41.748231, -74.372710).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place ("CDP") has a total area of 1.2 sqmi, of which 1.2 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi (2.46%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,168 people, 465 households, and 321 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 976.9 PD/sqmi. There were 509 housing units at an average density of 425.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.29% White, 1.20% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.00% of the population.

There were 465 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,221, and the median income for a family was $47,738. Males had a median income of $36,600 versus $29,063 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,321. About 10.3% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Joe Bevilacqua, broadcaster, voice actor, author, comedian, documentarian
 * Eugene Gregan, painter
 * Harriette A. Keyser, industrial reformer
 * Max Schubel, composer
 * Jeff Whitty, playwright

title: Napanoch, New York


text:
Olive, New York

Olive is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The town is west of Kingston, New York, and is inside the Catskill Park. The population was 4,226 at the 2020 census.

History
The town was settled circa 1740. The town of Olive was established in 1823 from parts of the towns of Hurley, Marbletown, and Shandaken. A limited edition 1973 commemorative plate, shown below, includes this text on the back:

"The town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, was taken from Shandaken, Marbletown, and Hurley and erected by law on April 15, 1823. At that time a name was suggested for the new town by quoting the following verse from the Bible: 'and Noah sent out a Dove from the Ark and when the waters subsided she returned with an Olive leaf in her mouth.' 'Let us call it the Town of Olive.' The first town meeting was held on the second Tuesday in May 1824. The seal was adopted by the Olive Town Board on November 9, 1971. It was suggested by the Town Historian, Vera Sickler, and designed and executed by Mrs. Tisanne Gardner of Boiceville, N.Y."

The creation of the Ashokan Reservoir in 1917 covered some of the communities of Olive. The reservoir is owned by New York City and is part of the city's water system.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 65.1 sqmi, of which 58.7 sqmi is land and 6.5 sqmi  (9.93%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,579 people, 1,869 households, and 1,263 families residing in the town. The population density was 78 people per square mile (30.1/km2). There were 2,306 housing units at an average density of 39.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.68% white, .61% African American, .17% Native American, .92% Asian, .17% Pacific Islander, .48% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population.

There were 1,869 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,409, and the median income for a family was $50,931. Males had a median income of $33,125 versus $27,008 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,569. About 3.5% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Olive
The Nine Hamlets are:
 * Ashokan – north of the reservoir on Route 28, bordering the towns of Hurley and Woodstock.
 * Brodhead – a remnant of a pre-reservoir hamlet located southwest of the reservoir, between West Shokan and Olivebridge.
 * Boiceville – at the northwestern end of the reservoir on Route 28.
 * Brown's Station – on the eastern border of Olive, now mostly submerged under the reservoir.
 * Krumville – southeastern corner of Olive, bordering Samsonville, Olivebridge and the town of Marbletown.
 * Olivebridge – south of the reservoir on Route 213. Relocated from its pre-reservoir site on Esopus Creek. The area now called Olivebridge was formerly known as Tongore.
 * Samsonville – the southwestern corner of Olive, bordering the town of Rochester.
 * Shokan – north of the reservoir on Route 28, west of Ashokan.
 * West Shokan – south of Boiceville at the western end of the reservoir, bordering the towns of Shandaken and Denning to the west.

Other locations
 * Ashokan Reservoir – the western end of the reservoir is inside the town.
 * Brodhead's Bridge – a former railroad station submerged by the reservoir.
 * Cold Brook – a former railroad station in Boiceville.
 * Davis Corners – part of Olivebridge, at the intersection of Ulster County routes 2A and 4.
 * Olive City – a now-submerged hamlet between the original sites of Shokan and Ashton (a former hamlet in the town of Hurley, site of the Olive Branch station on the Ulster & Delaware railroad).
 * Winchell – now part of Olivebridge, bordering Samsonville and Krumville. Former site of a schoolhouse.

title: Olive, New York


text:
Phoenicia, New York

Phoenicia is a hamlet (and census-designated place) of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 268 at the 2020 census, making it the second highest populated community in the town. The village center is located just off Route 28 at its junction with Route 214 and is nestled at the base of three peaks, Mount Tremper, Romer Mountain, and Sheridan Mountain. The community sits at the confluence of the Esopus Creek and Stony Clove Creek. A popular getaway for New Yorkers, the hamlet has frequented many tourism guides as among the best vacation towns in the greater New York City area.

History
The geographic area that would eventually be named Phoenicia was fertile hunting and fishing land for the Mohawk, Mohican, and Lenape peoples for hundreds of years before European settlers arrived. Of particular note are the Esopus Lenape, who are believed to be the people who spent the most time in the area.

The first European settlement in the area is believed to be in the mid-18th century, as Ulster county as a whole began to see more European immigration and land access in the more fertile lower valleys became restricted. These access restrictions particularly began to push poorer subsistence farmers into the Catskill mountains. Most of these early settlers were of Dutch, English, and Scottish origin, with Dutch being the most commonly spoken European language.

The 19th century saw industry move into the area, with tanning becoming the dominant employer early and eventually ceding to bluestone quarrying towards the latter half of the century. This era saw the decline of Dutch cultural dominance.

The hamlet housed the Phoenix Tannery from 1836 until it closed around 1870, eventually burning down in 1873. The Phoenix, along with most of the new industry in the area, primarily employed recent Irish immigrants and was at different times known as the Newkirk and Simpson Tannery, Simpson Tannery, Simpson's Tannery, and Edinburg Tannery. Many believe the Phoenix Tannery is the source of the hamlet's name. As the extractive industries of tanning and quarrying began to wane in the region towards the latter half of the 1800s, tourism began to take off with Phoenicia a major center. An 1879 article from the New York Times, "In The Ulster Catskills: Attractions of Shandaken Valley", notes "many thousands of people will come [to the Catskills] annually to escape the heat of the pent-up cities, and spend some of their hard-earned money in gaining renewed strength and vigor of body and mind."

The Ulster and Delaware Railroad arrived at this community first, making it the first to develop the tourist industry which is still a major part of the local economy. The New York Central Railroad acquired the railroad on February 1, 1932. It continued passenger service through the development, albeit only once-daily except Sundays in its final years. That service ended on March 31, 1954.

In 1960, the Empire State Railway Museum opened in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station.

On August 23, 1986, Phoenicia became the home of The Shandaken Eagle, a two-ton cast-iron eagle with a 13 foot wingspan who originally lived atop New York City's Grand Central Depot.

The Phoenicia Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Beginning in 2010, the town hosted the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice every August. It has moved to New Paltz.

Geography
Phoenicia is located at 42.08139°N, -74.31306°W (42.081266, -74.313019). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.5 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 381 people, 194 households, and 82 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 823.2 PD/sqmi. There were 246 housing units at an average density of 531.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.06% White, 0.26% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.62% of the population.

There were 194 households, out of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.8% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 57.7% were non-families. 45.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $22,159, and the median income for a family was $28,000. Males had a median income of $29,250 versus $21,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,408. About 5.7% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 20.5% of those age 65 or over.

The Zip Code for Phoenicia is 12464, and the Area code is 845.

title: Phoenicia, New York


text:
Pine Hill, New York

Pine Hill is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the western part of the town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 275.

History
Pine Hill became an important tourist community when the Ulster and Delaware Railroad reached it in 1872. It was known as the "Saratoga" of the Catskills due to the local Crystal Springs bottling company. In 1895, Pine Hill became an incorporated village, but the village voted to dissolve its incorporation in 1985, becoming an unincorporated entity (hamlet).

The District School No. 14, Elm Street Stone Arch Bridge, Mill Street Stone Arch Bridge, Morton Memorial Library, Pine Hill Historic District, and Ulster House Hotel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.1 sqmi, of which 5.5 km2 is land and 0.47% is water.

The community is inside the Catskill Park.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 275 people comprising 149 households in the CDP. The population density was 130 PD/sqmi. There were 330 housing units at an average density of 157 /mi2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.6% White, 1.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 5.1% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.0% of the population.

There were 149 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.7% were non-families. 43.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.52.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 12.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 34.9% from 45 to 64, and 27.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 100 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,969.

title: Pine Hill, New York


text:
Port Ewen, New York

Port Ewen is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,678 at the 2020 census. Port Ewen is in the Town of Esopus, south of Kingston, along U.S. Route 9W. Port Ewen is bounded by the Rondout Creek to the north, the Hudson River to the east, the hamlets of Connelly and Sleightsburgh to the northwest and northeast, respectively, the hamlet of Ulster Park to the south, and New Salem to the west.

History
The prospect of finding work with the Pennsylvania Coal Company attracted many to Port Ewen. Port Ewen was served by the West Shore Railroad, which shipped, among other freight, high explosives produced by the Nitro Powder Company in Kingston.

Before the opening of the Kingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge in 1921, those wishing to cross the Rondout Creek would have to take the Skillypot, a chain ferry that ran to Sleightsburgh, noted for its sporadic service.

Hercules Powder Company

Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 by DuPont and Laflin & Rand Powder Company. In 1902 by DuPont purchased Laflin & Rand which it operated as a subsidiary. In 1904 it dissolved Hercules as it continued to consolidate it holdings. However in 1912 successful antitrust litigation forced Duport to divest itself of Laflin and much of its explosive manufacturing. Laflin's patents for smokeless powder went to a revived Hercules Powder Company based in Wilmington, Delaware. The Port Ewen plant produced a range of special detonators designed for military use, as well as construction jobs that required blasts of dynamite. In 1973, two women were injured in an explosion of blasting caps.

Religious Establishments

Port Ewen has been served by several religious establishments, including the Town of Esopus United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Reformed Church of Port Ewen.

Catholic Church of the Presentation
A Catholic mission of St. Mary's in Rondout had been established in Port Ewen for the large number of boatmen who lived on the northern side of Rondout Creek in Kingston. In 1873 the mission was split off as a separate parish and placed in the charge of Rev. Michael Phelan. The Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was dedicated by Archbishop John McCloskey on June 14, 1874. Aside from attending to missions in the nearby hamlets of Eddyville and Esopus, Phelan also traveled to southern Ulster County, where he formed the nucleus of a parish in the hamlet of Milton. Rev. Thomas O'Hanlon became pastor of Port Ewen's Church of the Presentation in 1877. O'Hanlon built the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Eddyville. He died in 1883 and was buried at the entrance of the church.

Environmental Concerns
Port Ewen and adjacent Ulster Park were once a work site of Dyno Nobel explosives, listed as a manufacturing/distribution location in the 2012 Sustainability Report issued by Dyno Nobel / Incitec Pivot Limited. The location of the former Hercules Inc./Dyno-Nobel site has been designated a state Superfund site: "The site is listed as a "Class 2" site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites (list of State Superfund sites). A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment and action is required." The downstream spread of contaminants has impacted Port Ewen from the original site in Ulster Park. "The primary contaminants of concern at the site are inorganic (metals) in the soil site-wide and creek sediments and "energetic" (potentially explosive) materials in wetland sediment and in specific locations in the manufacturing area. Volatile organic compounds (e.g., chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene or TCE) are also present in the groundwater near the former shell plant. The presence of potentially explosive materials complicate implementation of a remedy at this site."

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) had identified in a May 2023 state report, "mercury, lead, copper, zinc, and dozens of other chemicals" in sediment investigations of Plantasie Creek, adjacent to the public elementary school. According to the NY DEC, "Former manufacturing operations for primers and igniters for explosives took place in the developed portion of the site, which occupies approximately 100 acres. However, present-day operations include producing electric detonators within a smaller portion of the site. Disposal activities occurred within the plant area and in wetland areas in the eastern portion of the property. Most of the surrounding areas are naturally vegetated with cover types ranging from old fields to forested areas." A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Superfund Community Report for June 2024 indicated that "On May 21, 2024, DEC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the town of Esopus for the unpermitted work. The town immediately worked closely with DEC to implement corrective measures, including covering areas of soil disturbance and installing temporary fencing near the elementary school to reduce the risk of public exposure."

Levels of lead exceeding 15 ppb have been found in some water supplies of Robert R. Graves Elementary, Port Ewen's public elementary school, according to an August 2021 analysis completed by EnviroTest Laboratories, LLC, with the highest recorded level of 90 ppb. Lead levels in water supplies exceeding 15 ppb have also been found in nearby Anna Devine Elementary School, located in Ulster Park, according to an analysis completed on behalf of Ulster BOCES. The highest level of lead recorded in the Anna Devine report was 230 ppb.

Geography
Port Ewen is on the west bank of the Hudson River at the mouth of Rondout Creek.

Port Ewen is located at 41.90694°N, -73.97861°W (41.906980, -73.978599).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.7 sqmi, of which 2.0 sqmi is land and 0.7 sqmi  (26.97%) is water.

Demographics
Updated information from the 2020 census is available. As of the 2000 census, there were 3,650 people, 1,475 households, and 982 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,867.3 PD/sqmi. There were 1,564 housing units at an average density of 800.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.40% White, 2.68% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 0.63% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.

There were 1,475 households in 2000, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the CDP, the population in 2000 was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in 2000 was $41,949, and the median income for a family was $50,208. Males had a median income of $37,043 versus $27,583 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,040. About 5.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people
Sojourner Truth, American abolitionist and activist, was enslaved in West Park, a few miles south of Port Ewen, also within the Town of Esopus. Truth was enslaved by Martinus Schryver from 1808-1810, forced to work at the tavern in town, until Schryver legally trafficked her to John Dunlap, also of West Park. Truth was finally able to escape being held against her will in 1826. A statue of her now stands at the corner of Broadway and Salem Street.

Luann de Lesseps, former countess and current star of Real Housewives of New York City, purchased a home along the Hudson River in 2018. It has even been featured on the television show.

title: Port Ewen, New York


text:
Rifton, New York

Rifton is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 481 at the 2020 census.

Rifton is home to the Woodcrest Bruderhof and is located near the western town line of the Town of Esopus on Route 213.

History
Rifton had its beginnings as a smattering of several hamlets and communities. Dashville hamlet was the first of the hamlets to be settled. By 1824, several mills had been built along the Wallkill by Ezekiel Eltinge. In 1861, Jeremiah W. Dimick bought the mill in Arnoldton and renamed the community Rifton Glen. Swartekill hamlet was so named because of its location on the Swartekill Creek where it meets the Wallkill; Dutch "swartekill" means "black river" in English. The hamlet was home to powder mills as early as 1865.

Rifton was incorporated as a village on May 20, 1901, encompassing what had been the hamlets of Rifton Glen, Swartekill, and Dashville and the communities of Saltpeterville, and Perrine's Bridge. After the village's mills closed, the state legislature dissolved the village in 1919.

Geography
Rifton is located at 41.83333°N, -74.04222°W (41.833298, -74.042101).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.2 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 501 people, 207 households, and 133 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 421.9 PD/sqmi. There were 235 housing units at an average density of 197.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.61% White, 1.40% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.80% of the population.

There were 207 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $49,643. Males had a median income of $36,500 versus $35,938 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,015. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.

Notable person
Sojourner Truth was given the name Isabella Baumfree when she was born to enslaved parents held against their will on the Hardenbergh farm in Rifton, in what was then Swartekill hamlet.

title: Rifton, New York


text:
Rochester, Ulster County, New York

Rochester is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 7,272 at the 2020 census. It is an interior town located near the center of Ulster County. The northwestern part of the town is in the Catskill Park.

U.S. Route 209 passes across the town.

History
Mombaccus was the Dutch name for the area that became the town of Rochester. It was first settled by Europeans in 1672. The name Rochester began with the issuance of a land patent in 1703. It became a town in 1788, and the formal establishment of the town of Rochester occurred in 1803.

Parts of Rochester were used to create the towns of Middletown in 1798 (now in Delaware County), Neversink in 1798 (now in Sullivan County), Wawarsing in 1806, and Gardiner in 1853.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 88.8 sqmi, of which 88.4 sqmi are land and 0.4 sqmi  (0.42%) is covered by water.

Rochester lies in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,018 people, 2,688 households, and 1,830 families residing in the town. The population density was 79.4 PD/sqmi. There were 3,750 housing units at an average density of 42.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 93.42% white, 2.51% African American, .54% Native American, .51% Asian, .04% Pacific Islander, .83% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.83% of the population.

There were 2,688 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,071, and the median income for a family was $47,257. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $24,773 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,065. About 8.2% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Rochester

 * Accord – a hamlet that is the seat of town government.
 * Alligerville – a hamlet near the eastern town line. The Alligerville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
 * Cherrytown – a hamlet northwest of Mombaccus.
 * Fantinekill – a hamlet north of Kerhonkson and Pataukunk on Route 3.
 * Granite – a hamlet south of Kerhonkson.
 * Kerhonkson – a hamlet located at the western town line on US 209.
 * Liebhart – a hamlet in the northern part of the town, east of Tabasco.
 * Kyserike – a hamlet near the eastern town boundary, east of Alligerville.
 * Mettacahonts – a hamlet north of Accord.
 * Mill Hook – a hamlet northwest of Accord.
 * Minniwaska – a hamlet near the southern town line.
 * Minnewaska State Park – a state park partly in the southern section of Rochester.
 * Mohonk Preserve – a nature preserve partially in the eastern part of the town. Part of Lake Mohonk is within the town also.
 * Mombaccus – a hamlet north of Fantinekill on Route 3.
 * Palentown – a hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, inside the Catskill State Park.
 * Pataukunk – a hamlet north of Kerhonkson on Route 3.
 * Pine Bush – a location on the western town line, north of Kerhonkson.
 * Potterville – a hamlet by the town line in the northwestern part of the town, and inside the Catskill State Park.
 * Riggsville – a hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, inside the Catskill State Park, southwest of Palentown.
 * St. Joseph – a hamlet southeast of Accord.
 * Tabasco – a hamlet in the northern part of the town on Route 3.
 * Whitfield – a hamlet northeast of Accord.
 * Yagerville – a location south of Potterville, located in the Catskill State Park.

title: Rochester, Ulster County, New York


text:
Rosendale, New York

Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village Rosendale, primarily centered around Main Street, but which was dissolved through vote in 1977. The population was 5,782 at the 2020 census.

History
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 having been 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, in 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.

Hamilton Child of Syracuse, New York published a "Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ulster County, N. Y." in 1872 that described the town.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church
In the mid 1800s priests from St. Peter's in Poughkeepsie served missions in Saugerties and Rondout. In 1840 Rev. John N. Smith, pastor in Poughkeepsie, extended his care to Rosendale. In 1842, his successor, Rev. Myles Maxwell celebrated Mass in Petrie's cooper shop. That same year Maxwell was named the first resident pastor of St. Mary's in Rondout, and Rosendale became a mission served out of Rondout. St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was organized by Father Thomas Martin O.P., pastor of St. Mary's in Rondout. Services were held in the home of Walter Delmar. In August 1850 the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. St. Peter's remained a mission of St. Mary's until 1855 when Rev. Edward Lynch, assistant at St. Mary's, was named pastor of the new parish of St. Peter's, Rosendale. In 1874 Rev. Martin O'Flaherty became pastor. Given the ever-increasing Catholic population, attracted by the opportunity of employment in the cement quarries, plus the Delaware & Hudson Canal, a new, larger church building, designed by Arthur Crooks, was built. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated on Christmas Day 1876.

In 1881 pastor John J. Gleason built a parish school and convent. The school was staffed by the Sister of Charity. Upon Gleason's death in 1894, he left a bequest of $500 to Kingston hospital. A mission was established in Whiteport. In 1897, Rev. P. Maughan, a Civil War veteran, became pastor and built the parish hall.

Rosendale cement
The Rosendale region is most well known for the production of natural cement. The Rosendale natural cement industry began during the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1825. The Delaware and Hudson Canal was later finished in 1828 using the world class cement. Rosendale natural cement soon gained a reputation for quality among engineers and was used in the construction of many of the United States' most important landmarks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Federal Hall National Memorial, and one of the wings of the United States Capitol. The industry fell into decline in the early 1900s.

Rosendale natural cement was produced from dolomite extracted from mines in the Rosendale and Whiteport members of the Late Silurian Rondout Formation. The natural levels of magnesium and clay in the dolomite from the Rondout Formation are ideally suited for cement production and required none of the chemical additives characteristic of modern Portland cement production.

Several abandoned dolomite mines still exist in the Rosendale region. A mine on the property of the Snyder Estate, which is maintained as part of a museum preserving the history of the Rosendale natural cement industry by the Century House Historical Society, is open to the public. Other mines have been put to a number of uses, including mushroom farming and movie locations. The records storage management company Iron Mountain currently maintains at least one mine for storing anything from microfiche to data backup tapes.

In 2004 limited cement mining resumed in Rosendale, and Rosendale natural cement is again being produced. Freedom Cement LLC, in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, is producing natural cement for use in historic restoration projects.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.8 sqmi, of which 19.9 sqmi is land and 0.8 sqmi  (3.90%) is water.

Rosendale is bisected or bordered by natural and man-made formations. The New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) passes through the town, and the Rondout Creek joins the Wallkill River by the eastern town line.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,352 people, 2,587 households, and 1,634 families residing in the town. The population density was 318.5 PD/sqmi. There were 2,857 housing units at an average density of 143.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 95.72% White, 1.79% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.63% of the population.

There were 2,587 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,282, and the median income for a family was $51,444. Males had a median income of $34,321 versus $28,787 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,303. About 8.4% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

 * Binnewater – A hamlet north of Rosendale village.
 * Bloomington – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town, southeast of Whiteport.
 * Bruceville – A hamlet in the southwestern section of the town, southwest of Rosendale village.
 * Cottekill – A hamlet northwest of Rosendale village.
 * Creeklocks – A hamlet at the eastern town line, south of Bloomington and on the west bank of Rondout Creek.
 * Hickory Bush – A hamlet in the northeastern section of the town, south of Whiteport and located on the west bank of Rondout Creek.
 * High Falls – A hamlet and census-designated place at the town line by the southwestern part of the town.
 * High Falls Park - A hamlet centered on Mossy Brook Road.
 * Kallops Corners – A hamlet north of Rosendale village.
 * Lawrenceville – A hamlet west of Rosendale village on Route 213.
 * Lefevere Falls – A hamlet adjacent to the Thruway and northeast of Rosendale village.
 * Maple Hill – A hamlet north of Lefever Falls and Rosendale village.
 * Rosendale (also known as Rosendale Village or Rosendale Hamlet) – A hamlet and census-designated place in the eastern half of the town, by Rondout Creek. It was a village until 1977.
 * Tillson – A hamlet and census-designated place south of Rosendale village
 * Whiteport – A hamlet in the northeastern corner of the town, adjacent to the Thruway.

Locations

 * Sturgeon Pool – A wide part of the Wallkill River at the eastern town line on NY route 213.

Government
The town's government is made up of a town board, consisting of a Supervisor and four council members. In addition, there is a deputy supervisor, a town clerk, two town justices and a deputy clerk.

title: Rosendale, New York


text:
Rosendale (CDP), New York

Rosendale is a hamlet located in the Town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It was also a census-designated place known as Rosendale Village until 2010, when the U.S. Census Bureau designated it Rosendale Hamlet. Some maps continue to list the place as just Rosendale. As of 2020, the "Hamlet" in the CDP name was dropped.

The area was originally settled in the late 17th century by Jacob Rutsen, a merchant from Albany, but did not become a major population center until the 1825 discovery of Rosendale cement in the region; the development of the cement industry, and the growth of the Delaware and Hudson Canal along the Rondout Creek and Main Street, gave rise to substantial economic development in Rosendale. The town's cement was used in the construction of numerous national landmarks. The Wallkill Valley Railroad reached the village in 1871, and its depot in the village was the largest station on the Wallkill Valley line. Rosendale was formally incorporated as a village in 1890.

An 1895 fire destroyed half the village, as it had no form of fire protection at that time. Throughout the 20th century, the decline of the natural cement industry caused Rosendale to suffer economically and lose population. The village was also battered by a series of severe floods, and the center of commerce began to shift from Main Street to Route 32. By the 1970s the village was having severe problems with its utilities and tax code, and was no longer producing cement. The hippie movement brought many artists to the village during this time, which led to ideological clashes between the newcomers and the more conservative, established residents. In 1976, the village voted to dissolve itself to solve its municipal problems, and on January 1, 1978, Rosendale became disincorporated. The village's mayor at the time of the vote viewed the dissolution as a work of conceptual art, and published a book on the matter.

After the disincorporation, the commercial center of the former village was revitalized by artists and entrepreneurs, who purchased and restored Main Street buildings that had fallen into disrepair. Since the 1990s, Rosendale has hosted many street festivals. The former village has had a number of notable buildings, including four churches. Two notable bridges span the Rondout Creek in the village: a road bridge that carries Route 32, and the Rosendale trestle, a former railroad bridge that was renovated as a pedestrian walkway. Joppenbergh Mountain, named after Rosendale's founder, borders the village and has been the site of numerous ski jumping competitions and mine collapses.

Early settlement
The earliest recorded human habitation in Rosendale was a Native American village, which included a cemetery, centered around a spring that no longer exists. The first person of European descent to settle the Rosendale area was a merchant from Albany, Jacob Rutsen (originally Jacobsen Rutger van Schoonderwoerdt). Rutsen received a patent on October 8, 1677, for a 40 acre tract of land, located in what is now Rosendale, after purchasing it from a local Indian named Anckerop. Anckerop agreed to the sale on the condition that he be allowed, "the right to plant ... maize annually for the duration of his life", and that Rutsen would plow the involved fields.

Dirck (also spelled Direk ) Keyser secured a lease to the land from Rutsen on June 17, 1680, and built the first house in Rosendale; the terms of Keyser's lease stipulated that he build a stone house on the property at the base of what is now Joppenbergh Mountain. On June 23, 1682, fifteen members of the Esopus tribe sold Rutsen more land, by the Rondout Creek. This land was surveyed by Philip Wells on May 28, 1685; Wells declared the size of the purchase to be 395 acre south of the creek, and 240 acre to the north. There was also a 12 acre island within the creek. Rutsen was given a patent for the combined area on August 26, 1686.

In 1700, Rutsen took the house from Keyser and expanded it. The settlement was known as "Rosendall" as early as 1700, and was also called "Roasendale" in documents as early as May 28, 1685. The name is thought to be either a reference to wild roses growing throughout the region, or of Dutch origin, as the word existed in period documents from the Netherlands. After Rutsen's death in 1730, he was buried in the area which eventually became the village. His tombstone eulogizes him as the "Founder of Rosendale".

The village remained sparsely populated and only consisted of two houses when the Delaware and Hudson Canal reached it after the materials used to manufacture Rosendale cement, named after the town, were discovered locally in 1825. Early settlers had avoided the area because the northern land, comprising present-day Rosendale Village, was a known floodplain, and the lands south of the creek were less mountainous and at a higher elevation.

Industrial growth
The 1825 dolomite deposit was the "single largest natural cement deposit in the United States", encompassing 32 mi2 between High Falls and Kingston. The cement was used in the construction of the Delaware & Hudson canal and quickly became the "primary impetus for the town to grow and prosper".

By 1835 the village contained a hydraulic cement plant, a post office, tavern, and several stores and houses. When the surrounding town of Rosendale was created from parts of Hurley, New Paltz and Marbletown on April 26, 1844, the village was referred to by the same name as the town. On December 7, 1847, New York passed a law which allowed the municipal incorporation of villages within the state. The Wallkill Valley Railroad was opened to Rosendale in 1871, with the Rosendale trestle across the Rondout Creek completed the following year. James S. McEntee, a former Delaware and Hudson engineer, was the only person to have seen the opening of both the canal and the trestle. The Rosendale station was the largest depot on the Wallkill Valley rail line. Unlike the other stations on the line, it was designed to have an "L" shape, rather than being rectangular, because the building was "squeezed by the severe slope behind it". In 1888, a pinkeye outbreak killed off many horses in Rosendale and along the canal.

Rosendale was sung about in a canal-related folk song in the 1880s called "Sari Jane". The village's cement mines were mentioned in a poem by D. Taylor, "Carrying Coal On The D & H Canal", and another poem, "Trip Down The Canal", by DeWitt E. Clinton and his wife. An 1840 painting by James Smilie depicting Rosendale was one of the earliest paintings to feature the canal.

The village was formally incorporated in 1890. Rosendale cement was used in the construction of several national monuments, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Washington Monument, Grand Central Terminal, and parts of the Statue of Liberty and the United States Capitol. At its peak Rosendale had fourteen bars on the same 1/4 mi street, while the local cement industry employed 5,000 people and was producing four million barrels of cement each year.

Decline and disasters
A fire destroyed half the village in 1895, burning 26 buildings and causing more than $125,000 in damage. The village had no form of fire protection, though there had been an attempt prior to the fire to establish such a utility. Ironically, "those who were the heaviest losers by the fire were the ones who worked hardest to defeat the movement". About 10,000 people came to Rosendale following the fire to look at the charred remains, packing the village in "a scene [reminiscent of] an old-time country fair". In 1900, the village attempted to purchase a water plant for $40,000. The New York & Rosendale Cement Company sued to prevent bonding for the purchase. Before the case could reach the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, the village elected a new board of trustees, which attempted to block the purchase. They were unsuccessful and the village was forced to complete the purchase in 1903. The village enacted an ordinance in December 1901 to remove snow, ice and dirt from local gutters and sidewalks. Power lines were built throughout the village in 1906.

A "strawberry and ice cream festival" was held at Rosendale's Episcopal church on June 12, 1906. Around this time the village had an annual firemen's parades, which included athletic events, such as baseball and tug of war, as well as brass bands, dances, and speeches. Several different fire companies from throughout the region were involved in the parades.

By 1910, the canal running through Rosendale had closed. On July 5, 1911, the Jacob Rutsen house was hit by lightning and destroyed in a severe storm. The increased industrial use of Portland cement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was detrimental to Rosendale's economy, and the village lost almost 70 percent of its population between 1900 and 1920; only one cement factory remained open after 1920. In April 1923, the Rosendale railroad depot and its freight house were destroyed in a fire.

The village suffered a severe flood in August 1928. Several feet of floodwater reached the first floors of buildings on Main Street, and the Kingston Fire Department sent boats to rescue stranded residents. In many houses, "muddy and slimy" water had filled the cellar "to the top step of the cellar stairway". Driveways had been washed out and planking was put down so that pumps could remove the water. Other major floods occurred in March 1936, August 1955, and October 1955. The water was as high as 8 ft above the level of the street during the 1955 floods. In October 1956, a dinner reception was held to honor the government leaders and flood control officers who had coordinated rescue efforts during the previous year's floods.

The village petitioned the state for a census recount in 1957 in an attempt to secure additional state aid. The recount was performed in March 1957 and showed that the village's population had increased 16 percent since the 1950 census. The village received additional state aid. In December 1963 the federal government approved a $100,000 appropriation for flood control projects along the Rondout Creek in the town of Rosendale; the plan included changes to the shape of the creek itself and "raising a section of [the village's] Main Street to the level of Route 32".

On a clear, sunny day in July 1964, a group of six boys went swimming in the Rondout Creek at a park in Rosendale Village. After getting out of the creek, the boys were struck by lightning. One boy was knocked back into the creek, and regained consciousness as he was being pulled out. Two of the boys, Gary Schmitt and Ronald Morelli, died. Ronald Morelli was the son of Albert Morelli, who served as Rosendale's fire chief. Albert Morelli was part of the team that put out the fire at Reid's Village Inn.

Rosendale had lost its bowling alley to a 1967 fire, and, on January 14, 1969, a local hotel burned down. The hotel, Reid's Village Inn, was owned by village mayor Joseph Reid. Reid and his wife lived in the building, and lost all their possessions in the fire. Total damage was estimated to be between $50,000 and $75,000. Within two days of the blaze, the village purchased a fire truck and scheduled hearings for alternate-side parking and water meter proposals. By this time, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a 325 ft flood wall, relocated several buildings, dredged the bottom of the creek, and raised a 1000 ft portion of Main Street about 3 ft. The project caused the 12 acre island in the creek to become a peninsula, connected to the northern bank. Since the completion of these projects, the village has not suffered floods as extreme as those of 1955.

In 1970, Rosendale's mayor ran off after declaring that the village "had gone broke". The commercial center of the village was shifting from Main Street (concurrent with Route 213) to Route 32; businesses on Route 32 included a department store, butcher shop, nail salon, barbershop, and restaurants. The village itself served as the commercial center of the town. The growth of shopping malls in nearby Kingston put many local stores out of business, and the last cement plant in Rosendale closed in 1971; abandoned cement mines were eventually used by edible mushroom growers who produced their crops "on beds of horse manure". Large piles of the manure were visible along Binnewater Road. The caves were also used to acquire naturally filtered water, maintain corn at a consistently cool temperature, and house a records storage facility.

The 40 acre storage facility, operated by Iron Mountain Incorporated, consists of street lights amid two-story buildings, all "erected beneath the old limestone caves leased from" the Snyder Estate for 99 years. It was opened for a public viewing in 1976 to quell rumors that the "heavily guarded" facility, described as a "subterranean James Bond set", was part of a cave network that connected the village to Kingston, and that the facility was actually a fallout shelter for federal officials; the facility is capable of withstanding a "direct atomic hit on [nearby] Poughkeepsie". Sealed behind a 7+1/2 ST steel door, the facility contains "its own well and ... sewage system", and enough generators to remain self-sufficient for three months.

Rise of hippie movement
The man who suggested that the underground facility have a public exhibition was a local personality, Billy Guldy. Guldy was born around 1940 in Kingston, and, by the 1970s, had become a leading figure in Rosendale Village's hippie movement. He declared himself a king, and frequently dressed as one. He owned a bar called "The Well", and a hotel in the village, and his portrait was painted on the door of a local bar. He declared Halloween a national holiday, ran for president, and led 200 people in a parade down Main Street. At one point Guldy took a bus to Yankee Stadium to give baseball player Fred Stanley the "key to Rosendale". Some older residents considered Guldy crazy, and former village trustee Harold Schoonmaker felt "there's something wrong with a man that walks around the streets barefoot, wearing a robe and derby". The village's children viewed Guldy favorably and were quite friendly with him.

Some of the village's more traditional residents felt overwhelmed by the influx of beatniks, and locals were conflicted over whether Rosendale's transformation into an art colony would benefit the village in the long term. A major clash between the hippies and village police occurred at a bar on June 21, 1975, causing over 150 people to show up to see what was going on. Although "there were many people actively involved" in the riot, only Guldy was charged.

A group that opposed the hippie movement managed to keep Guldy off the mayoral ballot in 1975. He became a write-in candidate for village trustee, with his friend, poet George Montgomery, running for mayor. Montgomery lost the election to Raivo Puusemp, a sculptor from SoHo. After his election, Puusemp chided Guldy for being a poor role model for the village youth. Puusemp was not a native of Rosendale and had not lived there long. By early July 1975, Puusemp had appointed a village dog warden after a dog bit a child and was allowed to run about the streets unrestrained.

Disincorporation
When Raivo Puusemp, a conceptual artist and art instructor at SUNY Ulster, became mayor of Rosendale, the village was plagued by an "overbearing tax structure and problems with its municipal utilities". Though disincorporation was already known as a possible solution to the village's crises, it had been an "emotionally charged issue" and no action had been taken. By this time Rosendale "could [no longer] govern itself". The village and town governments had often been at odds; the town was governed by Republicans, while the village was increasingly under Democratic control. This friction manifested in several ways. Town and village officials would frequently disrupt each other's meetings, and the town ordered its snow plows to raise their blades while passing through the village; the village subsequently bought its own plow and banned the town's plow from entering village limits.

During his campaign, Puusemp did not mention disincorporation or how it related to art, though he had already decided two months before the election that the only solution to the village's problems was disincorporation. Beginning in 1969, Puusemp "developed an interest in group dynamics and social and political processes". In some of his early artworks (termed "influence pieces"), Puusemp would manipulate subjects into unknowingly executing his ideas while believing that they, the subjects, had come up with said ideas on their own. He entered politics to combine "influence and concept ... compatibly".

Viewing the "project [as] an artwork in the form of a political problem", Puusemp convinced the people of Rosendale to disincorporate by publicly comparing the village's finances to what would be "need[ed] to maintain a viable town". The village's board of trustees strongly favored dissolution and "forced three separate votes before [reaching] a 179 to 87 majority to abolish the village". A public referendum on the dissolution was held on March 16, 1976, which passed in a 2–1 landslide. Puusemp resigned as mayor on October 1, and moved to Utah with his family. He vowed never to run for office again. During his tenure in office, and in the aftermath of his resignation, Puusemp received widespread popular support.

Marc Phelan, a village trustee and associate of Puusemp, became mayor following Puusemp's departure. He was reelected the following March with 141 votes, beating three other candidates to become the village's last mayor. Rosendale became unincorporated on January 1, 1977, though the village government did not disband until the end of 1977; the village completely ceased to exist "at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, 1977". Ironically, the state and federal government provided funding for new sewage and water systems following the disincorporation, mitigating the primary reasons residents had voted to dissolve.

Puusemp documented the dissolution by collecting "press clippings, council meeting minutes, and public documents" and publishing them after his friend, performance artist Paul McCarthy, urged him to do so. Both the book and the dissolution of Rosendale Village itself can be considered different facets of the same artistic work. The 1980 census listed Rosendale Village as a census-designated place (CDP). The former village is also considered a hamlet, an unofficial term which refers to a named but unincorporated place in New York. Rosendale Village is the largest voting bloc in the town of Rosendale, and of all former villages in the Hudson Valley, Rosendale was the last to dissolve.

Modern Rosendale
After the village's disincorporation, taxes decreased for former village residents, but increased for Rosendale residents throughout the rest of the town. The population of the former village has grown 24.5 percent, from 1,220 to an estimated 1,519 people. The same year that the village chose to disincorporate, the Wallkill Valley rail line that ran through the village also ceased regular service.

The revitalization of businesses in the former village was credited to the influx of artists. Prior to the 1980s, store owners in Rosendale Village had either retired or died, and their shops had become residential or simply abandoned. Newcomers purchased these properties, restored them, and returned them to commercial service.

On September 13, 1991, the Century House Historical Society was formed to preserve and educate on the history of the Rosendale cement industry. The New York State Education Department granted a permanent charter to the organization on June 13, 2000. The Society maintains a museum and holds frequent events on the history and geology of the area. The Society held a concert in one of the former cement mines, the Widow Jane Mine, around 1996; the concert caused severe traffic and presented a fire hazard, and the society was subsequently sued by the town which was subsequently dismissed. The Widow Jane Mine has been the site of poetry readings, Taiko drumming, "all-night raves, Halloween horror shows and role-playing vampire games". It is also one of the few mines in Rosendale that is almost completely horizontal, and is part of the Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District.

Rosendale hosts several annual festivals. The Rosendale Street Festival, held in the end of July on Main Street, showcases local talent and celebrates the birthday of Rosendale icon, Uncle Willy. Rosendale has held an annual pickle festival since 1998. Some view the pickle festival as a form of social expression, and the "current artisan pickling scene" has been compared to the mentality of early microbreweries. The pickle festival was originally started by Eri Yamaguchi and Bill Brooks, as a way to introduce Ulster County to pickled Japanese food, such as oshinko. The festival has featured Japanese traditional dancing. At the first pickle festival the number of people attending was 1,000, a number five times greater than expected. The following year it was double that, and by 2003, attendance was almost 5,000. Rosendale also holds a recurring winter festival known as "Frozendale", and in late September 2010, the hamlet had a zombie-themed festival. Rosendale has also held two Mermaid Parades in recent years the first in 2015 and the second in 2016. Historically, Rosendale's festivals have "draw[n as many as] 30,000 people".

Geography and geology
Rosendale Village has a total area of 1.959 mi2, of which 1.904 mi2 is land and 0.055 mi2 is water. The former village is located at the center of the town of Rosendale, and is "situated on the [former Delaware and Hudson] canal and Rondout Creek", about 2+3/4 mi north of the creek's confluence with the Wallkill River. The highest recorded crest of the Rondout Creek in Rosendale was 26.5 ft on October 16, 1955. The creek does not normally rise above 10 ft, but overflows its banks after reaching 18 ft. The hamlet's ZIP code is 12472 and it is in area code 845. Rosendale Village is bordered by the creek and by the 495 ft Joppenbergh Mountain. It is traversed by state routes NY 32 and NY 213. The former village is 2 mi east of the hamlet of High Falls, 6 mi north of the village of New Paltz, and 8 mi south of the city of Kingston.

Rosendale is underlain by a shale member of the Martinburg Formation called Martinburg shale, deposited as early as 500 million years ago; Martinburg shale also lines the bottom of the Rondout Creek as it flows through the town. A conglomerate of the Shawangunk Formation was deposited over the Martinburg layer approximately 425 million years ago. The conglomerate is in turn covered by High Falls Shale, a reddish shale formed by mud flats. Subsequent streams left a layer of gray Binnewater Sandstone above the shale. After the sandstone was deposited, the region experienced folding and faulting, and was submerged in a shallow sea. This allowed the creation of fossiliferous limestone roughly 390 million years ago, specifically the Rondout Formation and New Scotland Formation. The Rondout Formation's dolomite member, formed during the upper Silurian, was mined throughout the village because of its ability to form natural cement. The region experienced repeated glaciation, and large amounts of till and alluvium were deposited during the Wisconsonian glaciation.

Climate
There is more precipitation during May than in any other month; Rosendale currently has an annual precipitation of about 44 in. Between 1931 and 1955, the town averaged 48 in each year. July is the hottest month, on average; the hottest recorded temperature occurred during July 1995. January is the coldest month, and the lowest recorded temperature was taken in January 1961.

Churches
Rosendale Village has had four churches throughout its existence: a Baptist, Dutch Reformed, Catholic and Episcopal church. Of these churches, only the Catholic one still functions as a church.

The first Baptist minister arrived in Rosendale in March 1839, and the first baptisms took place on April 5, 1840. The First Associate Baptist Society in the Village of Rosendale was incorporated on May 22, 1840. A meeting house for the society was built in 1842; it was dedicated on October 17 and its pews were purchased on November 4. The church underwent a revival between 1875 and 1876, and was reincorporated on May 1, 1876, as the Baptist Church of Rosendale. It was closed as a church in 1929, and sold in 1972 to a local filmmaker, Walter Helmuth, who used it as a house. At some point it housed a "fraternal organization of farmers" and was known as the "Grange". In the 1990s it was used as a theater. On January 15, 2004, the building burned down. Though the town's fire station was directly across the street, the extreme cold hindered firefighters' efforts to control the fire.

The Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Rosendale was incorporated on November 28, 1843. The church originally cost $2,500 to build, and was designed to seat 300 people. It burned down and was rebuilt in 1895. In 1985, it was renovated and converted into a glass studio called Belltower Lighting.

Catholic priests had come to Rosendale as early as 1840, and the first mass in the village was held in a cooper's shop. The original Church of St. Peter was completed in the summer of 1850, and the first mass in that building was held on August 15. The church was not officially incorporated until April 29, 1865. A newer, larger building was constructed in 1876, on the same road as the village's rail depot. The new building followed an English Gothic architecture style. It was made of bricks, created near the North River, and was ornamented with yellow bricks from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and sandstone from Amherst, New York. The first mass in the new church occurred on December 25, 1876; the building's total construction cost was $31,000. The Church of St. Peter is the only one of the village's churches that still functions as a church.

Rosendale's Episcopal church, the All Saints' Chapel, was built in 1876. It was hit hard by the floods of 1955, to the point where "the rising water floated the organ up toward the altar". It was abandoned after the flooding, and was purchased by a local cement magnate, so that it could be converted into the Rosendale Library; the library association had its charter granted on October 24, 1958. The building was severely damaged by a fire on January 15, 1975, but was restored, and a new wing was added; the wing was named after Anna Mae Auchmoedy, the building's first librarian. In 1986, the library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Joppenbergh Mountain
Joppenbergh is a 495 ft mountain, adjacent to the hamlet's railroad trestle and Route 213. It was named after Rosendale's founder, Jacob Rutsen, and mined throughout the late 19th century for the dolomite that was used in the manufacture of natural cement. There was a large cave-in on December 19, 1899, that destroyed mining equipment and collapsed shafts within the mountain. Though it was feared that several workers had been killed, the collapse happened during lunch, and all the miners were outside, eating. Since the collapse the mountain has experienced shaking and periodic rockfalls.

During the late 1930s, Joppenbergh became the site of several skiing competitions, which continued until the early 1940s. The slope was designed by Harold Schelderup for Rosendale's first competition in 1937; Schelderup participated in a competition that July after the slope was coated with borax. Skiing stopped until the 1960s, when a new slope was built, and competitions were held until 1971.

The town of Rosendale considered buying land near the mountain in 2003 for parking. The following year, the town leased a tract of land to build a municipal parking lot. Joppenbergh was put up for sale in 2009, and, in March 2011, the Open Space Institute offered to purchase the entire 117 acre property and sell it to the town; the following month, Rosendale's town board agreed to the deal.

Railroad bridge
In 1869 the town of Rosendale issued municipal bonds to pay for its portion of the Wallkill Valley Railroad, and construction of a railroad bridge spanning the Rondout Creek began the following year. After bridging the Wallkill River in New Paltz, the railroad reached Rosendale in 1871. The Rosendale trestle was formally opened during a large ceremony on April 6, 1872. The height of the bridge terrified onlookers, who questioned the trestle's sturdiness. The bridge's completion allowed the rail line to continue north to Kingston.

The bridge was rebuilt between 1895 and 1896 to convert it from iron to steel. It was repeatedly reinforced throughout its existence. When Conrail closed the Wallkill Valley line in 1977, the stability of the trestle had been one of its primary reasons for doing so. Conrail had tried to sell the bridge as early as 1983, and in 1986 the trestle was sold to a private businessman, John Rahl, for one dollar.

Rahl installed decking on half of the trestle between 1989 and 1991, attempting to open it as a bungee jumping platform. A court ruling found that such a venture violated zoning laws, and the town denied Rahl a variance. In 2009 the county seized the trestle, and it was sold to an environmental group. The trestle was closed in 2010 for repairs, and was opened in 2013 as part of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

Route 32 bridge
During the American Revolution, General George Clinton crossed the Rondout Creek at Rosendale Village in October 1777, arriving "one or two days too late to resist the British attack" on Kingston by the forces of General John Vaughan. Clinton's fording spot is now the location of a bridge on State Route 32. The bridge, originally built around 1934, was refurbished in 1970, and again between 2008 and 2009. While the bridge was being renovated in 2009, only one lane had been open, congesting traffic. The total cost of the project was $5.5 million. There is a 58-spot park and ride on Route 32, by Rosendale's community center, that is served by the Ulster County Area Transit and Trailways bus services.

Theater
Originally a casino in the 1920s, the Rosendale Theater was seized by the village and converted into a theater in 1949 by Anthony Cacchio, a man who bore a strong resemblance to filmmaker Otto Preminger. The first film shown on opening night in February 1949 was Blood on the Moon. Caccio owned the building outright by 1954, and operated it with his son, Anthony Cacchio Jr., who banned popcorn in the theater in 1969. The theater served as the village's fire department at one point.

In early 2010, a real estate developer approached the Cacchios with an offer to purchase the theater. A 501(c) nonprofit organization was formed in March 2010 to preserve the building, which secured a $50,000 grant from PepsiCo to help take out a $385,000 mortgage. Since completing its purchase of the theater on August 19, 2010, the Rosendale Theatre Collective has added a digital projector, surround sound system, stage thrust, and retractable screen. The group plans to add a concession stand and move the ticket booth outside during warm months. In late February 2011, the theater received a $175,000 state grant to renovate the building.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,374 people, 602 households, and 329 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 725.5 PD/sqmi. There were 666 housing units at an average density of 351.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.9% White, 2.3% African American, 0.5% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.00% of the population.

There were 602 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,712, and the median income for a family was $50,789. Males had a median income of $35,259 versus $25,764 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,700. About 5.2% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York operates Catholic schools in Ulster County. St. Peters School in Rosendale closed in 2001.

title: Rosendale (CDP), New York