Marker Logo
THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
High Falls in Ulster County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Discovery of Cement

 
 
Discovery of Cement Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, April 4, 2020
1. Discovery of Cement Marker
Inscription. At Bruceville, Nathaniel Bruce, burned in a blacksmith's forge, some native rock and discovered cement in 1818.
 
Erected 1939 by State Education Department.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceScience & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1818.
 
Location. 41° 49.62′ N, 74° 7.578′ W. Marker is in High Falls, New York, in Ulster County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (New York State Route 213) and Bruceville Road, on the right when traveling west on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: High Falls NY 12440, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York and in the Hudson Valley. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are
Paid Advertisement
Click or scan to see
this page online
within walking distance of this marker: Blacksmith Shop (within shouting distance of this marker); Telegraph Office (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Canal Aqueduct (about 300 feet away); High Falls War Memorial (about 300 feet away); Old Stone Aqueduct (about 300 feet away); Delaware and Hudson Canal (about 400 feet away); Old Depuy House (about 400 feet away); Hoggees (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in High Falls.
 
More about this marker. Marker is pointing the wrong way. It should point down Bruceville Road. Instead it is pointing east along NY 213.
 
Also see . . .  Natural Cement Chemistry. Rosendale Natural Cement Products website entry (Submitted on April 6, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Discovery of Cement
The D+H Canal engineers were recently off the Erie Canal job where they had recognized the limestone in High Falls was identical as what they had used in Syracuse. This would be significant in two ways;
1) They did not have to pay to transport the Syracuse hydraulic cement to the Delaware and Hudson Canal.
Paid Advertisement

2)The discovery started a local cement industry and its' transportation made them the first customer of the D&H Canal. This cement was referred to as Rosendale Cement.

Anecdote: when the canal was closed, the cement section remained open to the tide water lock and the Hudson River.That made the Rosendale Cement industry the Last customer of the D+H Canal.

Additionally those mines not along the canal pooled their resources and built a horse railroad to the tidewater in Eddyville - the same place where the canal's tidewater lock was/is located.
    — Submitted September 9, 2021, by Chester T. Hartwell of Angier, North Carolina.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 1,214 times since then and 41 times this year. Photo   1. submitted on April 6, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
 
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide angle photo of the marker and its surroundings. • Can you help?
m=147718

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisement
Jul. 25, 2026