Rosendale in Ulster County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Binnewater Historic District/ Women's Studio Workshop
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, September 15, 2024
1. Binnewater Historic District Marker
Inscription.
Binnewater Historic District/ Women's Studio Workshop. .
Binnewater Historic District. You are standing here in the center of the Binnewater Historic District. This area, originally known as Keator's Corners, became known as Binnewater at the turn of the century with the discovery of Binnewater Limestone and the manufacture of Rosendale Cement, mined alongside the Binnewater Lakes., This strong natural hydraulic cement was used in the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and the U.S. Treasury Building. Highly regarded for its durability, Rosendale Cement was found in the engineering specifications of many public works projects of the period., at its peak at the turn of the century, the Rosendale Cement Works employed 5,000 workers, produced four million barrels of cement a year and helped sustain the growing local population., The development of Portland cement in 1920 marked the decline of the Rosendale Cement Works. However, the natural appeal of the rustic Catskill Mountain environment contributed to the rise of a modest tourism industry around the Binnewater Lakes, which continues to this day., The Building Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) is the former site of the F.O. Norton Cement Company Store, managed by David Burke. Besides serving as the cement company store, the building, constructed in 1886, was at one time a post office, a gas station and, in 1980 when WSW acquired it, Krom's Sporting Goods Store., This building is the key structure in the Binnewater Historic District, which includes Hoffman's Livery in the yellow barn behind you, a former boarding house from the same era directly in front of you, and the Wallkill Valley Railroad Station (dismantled in 1989) and its privy., Restoration WSW has worked to maintain the historic integrity of the building by doing minimal rehabilitation to retrofit the interior spaces into artists studios. The facilities include etching, silkscreen letterpress and papermaking studios, book arts equipment, a black and white darkroom and a ceramics studio. In 2006, WSW completed a historic faηade rehabilitation which included reconstructing the front wood deck and sun shade roof and restoring the original paint colors., WSW is currently rehabilitating the boarding house, maintaining the exact historic exterior and retrofitting the interior for additional studios, a gallery and a community space.,
Women's Studio Workshop. Founded in 1974, Women's Studio Workshop has grown to become a premier visual arts organization in our region. Over 700 artists from across the United States and around the world have come to Rosendale to create artists books, work in our studios, teach local chiddren as part lof our art-in-education program, and study new [obscured] in our Summer Art Institute., Women's Studio Workshop envisions a society in which visual art is integral to the cultural mainsteam and permanently recorded in history.
Binnewater Historic District
You are standing here in the center of the Binnewater Historic District. This
area, originally known as Keator's Corners, became known as Binnewater at the turn of the century with the discovery of Binnewater Limestone and the manufacture of Rosendale Cement, mined alongside the Binnewater Lakes.
This strong natural hydraulic cement was used in the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and the U.S. Treasury Building. Highly regarded for its durability, Rosendale Cement was found in the engineering specifications of many public works projects of the period.
at its peak at the turn of the century, the Rosendale Cement Works employed 5,000 workers, produced four million barrels of cement a year and helped sustain the growing local population.
The development of Portland cement in 1920 marked the decline of the Rosendale Cement Works. However, the natural appeal of the rustic Catskill Mountain environment contributed to the rise of a modest tourism industry around the Binnewater Lakes, which continues to this day.
The Building
Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) is the former site of the F.O. Norton Cement Company Store, managed by David Burke. Besides serving as the cement company store, the building, constructed in 1886, was at one time a post office, a gas station and, in 1980 when WSW acquired it, Krom's Sporting Goods Store.
This building is the key structure in the Binnewater Historic District, which includes Hoffman's Livery in the yellow barn behind you, a former boarding house from the same era directly in front of you, and the Wallkill Valley Railroad Station (dismantled in 1989) and its privy.
Restoration
WSW has worked to maintain the historic integrity of the building by doing minimal rehabilitation to retrofit the interior spaces into artists studios. The facilities include etching, silkscreen letterpress and papermaking studios, book arts equipment, a black and white darkroom and a ceramics studio. In 2006, WSW completed a historic faηade rehabilitation which included reconstructing the front wood deck and sun shade roof and restoring the original paint colors.
WSW is currently rehabilitating the boarding house, maintaining the exact historic exterior and retrofitting the interior for additional studios, a gallery and a community space.
Women's Studio Workshop
Founded in 1974, Women's Studio Workshop has grown to become a premier visual arts organization in our region. Over 700 artists from across the United States and around the world have come to Rosendale to create artists books, work in our studios, teach local chiddren as part lof our art-in-education program, and study new [obscured] in our Summer Art Institute.
Women's Studio Workshop envisions a society in which visual art is integral to the cultural
mainsteam and permanently recorded in history.
Location. 41° 51.456′ N, 74° 5.141′ W. Marker is in Rosendale, New York, in Ulster County. It is on Wallkill Valley Railroad Trail near Binnewater Lane, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 722 Binnewater Lane, Kingston NY 12401, 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 and in the Mid-Atlantic. 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.
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, September 15, 2024
3. Binnewater Historic District/ Women's Studio Workshop Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 17, 2024, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 262 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 17, 2024, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. 3. submitted on September 21, 2024, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.
