134-5 The Neglected Geoheritage of the Historic Rosendale Cement District, New York

Session: Crossing Boundaries: Histories of Geoheritage

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Abstract:

In 1825, it was discovered that the Upper Silurian (Pridolian) Rondout Formation was the ideal composition for use as a natural hydraulic cement. This led to the development of a 20 km by 4 km cement district, centered around the Ulster County, New York town of Rosendale, which persisted until the early 1970s.

Today, abandoned quarries, mines, kilns, cement plant remnants, and other structures, many on private property, mark the remains of this once-thriving industry. While generations of geologists and students have studied the quarries and mines, which expose deformed Siluro-Devonian rocks of the Hudson-Valley Fold-Thrust Belt, they are more than important geological field trip sites. There are interesting geoheritage stories to be told as well.

Historically, there is the strong link with Delaware and Hudson Canal (1828-1899) which relied heavily on Rosendale cement for its construction and then acted as a source for Pennsylvania anthracite for cement kilns and as a transport medium for bringing the cement to market via the Hudson River. Locally, Rosendale cement had a 150-year history of mining by dozens of shifting cement plants and companies. During the late 1800s, the Rosendale cement district produced several million barrels of cement each year, provided roughly half of all natural cement used in the United States, and played a key role in the building of many important landmarks in New York City and further afield.

Biologically, the abandoned surface quarries are generally flooded and form ponds hosting aquatic ecosystems while several of the subsurface mines are monitored bat hibernacula devastated by the White-nose Syndrome (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) fungal infection.

Environmentally, mines have sometimes served as illegal dumping sites while the deeper, flooded mines have become part of a localized karst aquifer groundwater systems and are subjected to pressure from increasing development projects in the area.

Culturally, the mines have also been used for a variety of purposes over the years, including climate-controlled data storage, bomb shelters, mushroom growing businesses, and, in one mine preserved by a historical society, tours and a variety of public performances.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-10919

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