Editing Rosendale (CDP), New York (section)

== History ==

=== Early settlement ===
[[File:Rosendale Village 1875 map.jpg|thumb|left|An 1875 map of the area constituting the former village of Rosendale]]
The earliest recorded human habitation in Rosendale was a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] village, which included a cemetery, centered around a [[Spring (hydrosphere)|spring]] that no longer exists. The first person of European descent to settle the Rosendale area was a merchant from [[Albany, New York|Albany]], Jacob Rutsen (originally ''Jacobsen Rutger van Schoonderwoerdt'').<ref name="old-stone" /> Rutsen received a [[Land patent|patent]] on October&nbsp;8, 1677, for a {{convert|40|acre|ha|adj=on}} 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&nbsp;... maize annually for the duration of his life", and that Rutsen would plow the involved fields.{{sfn|Fried|2005|p=69}}

Dirck (also spelled ''Direk''<ref name="old-stone" />) Keyser secured a lease to the land from Rutsen on June&nbsp;17, 1680, and built the first house in Rosendale;{{sfn|Fried|2005|p=70}} the terms of Keyser's lease stipulated that he build a stone house on the property<ref name="old-stone" /> at the base of what is now Joppenbergh Mountain.{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=18}} On June&nbsp;23, 1682, fifteen members of the [[Esopus tribe]] sold Rutsen more land, by the Rondout Creek.{{sfn|Fried|2005|pp=70–71}} This land was surveyed by Philip Wells on May&nbsp;28, 1685;<ref name="old-stone" /> Wells declared the size of the purchase to be {{convert|395|acre|ha}} south of the creek, and {{convert|240|acre|ha}} to the north. There was also a {{convert|12|acre|ha|adj=on}} island within the creek. Rutsen was given a patent for the combined area on August&nbsp;26, 1686.{{sfn|Fried|2005|p=71}}

In 1700, Rutsen took the house from Keyser and expanded it.<ref name="old-stone">{{Cite web |url=http://www.centuryhouse.org/oldstone.html |title=The Old Stone Houses of Rosendale |publisher=Century House Historic Society |first=Alan |last=Mackenzie |access-date=2011-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719065803/http://www.centuryhouse.org/oldstone.html |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> The settlement was known as "Rosendall" as early as 1700,{{sfn|Sylvester|1880|p=232}} and was also called "Roasendale" in documents as early as May&nbsp;28, 1685.<ref name="old-stone" /> The name is thought to be either a reference to wild [[rose]]s growing throughout the region, or of [[Netherlands|Dutch]] origin, as the word existed in period documents from the [[Netherlands]].<ref name="rosendale-name">{{Cite news |title=Rosendale Way Back When... |newspaper=Huguenot Herald |location=New Paltz, NY |first=Bea |last=Havranek |date=1976-05-05}}</ref> 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".{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=19}}

The village remained sparsely populated{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=295}} and only consisted of two houses when the [[Delaware and Hudson Canal]] reached it{{sfn|Sylvester|1880|p=232}} after the materials used to manufacture [[Rosendale cement]], named after the town, were discovered locally in 1825.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=9703 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Binnewater Historic District |date=September 1982 |access-date=2011-01-02 |first=Neil G. |last=Larson |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |format=Java |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006051216/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=9703 |archive-date=2011-10-06 }}</ref> 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]].{{sfn|Fried|2005|p=72}}

=== Industrial growth ===
[[File:Beers Ulster County Atlas Page085.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Lithography|lithograph]] depicting the New York and Rosendale Cement Company]]
The 1825 [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] deposit was the "single largest natural cement deposit in the United States", encompassing {{convert|32|mi2|km2}} between [[High Falls, New York|High Falls]] and [[Kingston, New York|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".{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=295}}

By 1835 the village contained a hydraulic cement plant, a post office, tavern, and several stores and houses.{{sfn|Sanderson|1974|p=137}} When the surrounding [[Rosendale, New York|town of Rosendale]] was created from parts of [[Hurley (town), New York|Hurley]], [[New Paltz, New York|New Paltz]] and [[Marbletown, New York|Marbletown]] on April&nbsp;26, 1844, the village was referred to by the same name as the town.{{sfn|Sylvester|1880|p=232}} On December&nbsp;7, 1847, New York passed a law which allowed the [[Municipal corporation|municipal incorporation]] of villages within the state.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wAuxAAAAIAAJ |title=Laws of the State of New York |page=267 |access-date=2011-02-27 |publisher=[[New York (state)|New York]] |year=1854 |location=Albany, NY}}</ref> The [[Wallkill Valley Railroad]] was opened to Rosendale in 1871, with the [[Rosendale trestle]] across the [[Rondout Creek]] completed the following year.{{sfn|Mabee|1995|p=38}} 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Testing the Great Bridge |newspaper=Weekly Freeman |location=Rondout, NY |date=1872-04-12 |oclc=09824069}}</ref> The Rosendale station was the largest depot on the Wallkill Valley rail line.<ref name="rosendale-station">{{List journal |date=1923-04-05 |work=New Paltz Times |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref> 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".{{sfn|Mabee|1995|p=47}} In 1888, a [[pinkeye]] outbreak killed off many horses in Rosendale and along the canal.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/07/10/106190777.pdf |title=Horses Dying From Pinkeye |date=1888-07-10 |access-date=2011-02-11 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Rosendale was sung about in a canal-related [[Folk music|folk song]] in the 1880s called "Sari Jane".{{sfn|Sanderson|1974|pp=194–195}} The village's cement mines were mentioned in a poem by D. Taylor, "Carrying Coal On The D & H Canal",{{sfn|Sanderson|1974|p=216}} and another poem, "Trip Down The Canal", by DeWitt E. Clinton and his wife.{{sfn|Sanderson|1974|pp=220, 224}} An 1840 painting by James Smilie depicting Rosendale was one of the earliest paintings to feature the canal.{{sfn|Sanderson|1974|p=228}}

The village was formally incorporated in 1890.<ref name="gov-dissolve">{{Cite news |title=Village Government to Dissolve at Midnight Saturday |newspaper=Huguenot Herald |location=New Paltz, NY |date=1977-12-28}}</ref> 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]].{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=296}} At its peak Rosendale had fourteen [[Bar (establishment)|bars]] on the same {{convert|1/4|mi|km|adj=on}} street,<ref name="bad-vibes" /> while the local cement industry employed 5,000 people and was producing four million barrels of cement each year.<ref name="Wallis" />

=== 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".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/08/26/102470274.pdf |title=Disastrous Fire At Rosendale |date=1895-08-26 |access-date=2011-02-11 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.centuryhouse.org/bigfire.html |title=Rosendale's Big Fire of Sun., Aug. 26, 1895 |newspaper=Kingston Daily Leader |location=Kingston, NY |date=1895-08-26 |access-date=2011-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719065833/http://www.centuryhouse.org/bigfire.html |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> In 1900, the village attempted to purchase a [[Water supply|water plant]] for $40,000.<ref name="water-1">{{Cite news |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19031109.2.48 |title=Rosendale Must Take Water Plant |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1903-11-09 |access-date=2011-02-09 |page=6}}</ref> The New York & Rosendale Cement Company sued to prevent [[Municipal bond|bonding]] for the purchase. Before the case could reach the [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division]], the village elected a new [[Board of directors|board of trustees]], which attempted to block the purchase. They were unsuccessful<ref name="water-2">{{Cite news |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19030114.2.12 |title=Village Wins in Court of Appeals |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1903-01-14 |access-date=2011-02-09 |page=3}}</ref> and the village was forced to complete the purchase in 1903.<ref name="water-1" /> The village enacted an [[Local ordinance|ordinance]] in December 1901 to remove snow, ice and dirt from local gutters and sidewalks.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Village Ordinance |newspaper=Rosendale News |date=1939-01-27 |location=Rosendale, NY}}</ref> [[Electric power transmission|Power lines]] were built throughout the village in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19061003.2.59 |title=Will Light Rosendale |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1906-10-03 |access-date=2011-02-09 |page=6}}</ref>

A "strawberry and ice cream festival" was held at Rosendale's Episcopal church on June&nbsp;12, 1906.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rosendale |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19060607.2.56 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1906-06-07 |access-date=2011-03-05}}</ref> Around this time the village had an annual [[Firefighters|firemen's]] parades, which included athletic events,<ref name="bid-day" /> such as [[baseball]] and [[tug of war]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Big Time in Rosendale |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19100817.2.69 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1910-08-17 |access-date=2011-03-05}}</ref> as well as [[brass band]]s, dances,<ref name="bid-day">{{Cite news |title=Big Day In Rosendale |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19070911.2.14 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1907-09-11 |access-date=2011-03-05}}</ref> and speeches. Several different fire companies from throughout the region were involved in the parades.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Firemen's Day In Rosendale |url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=kingstondaily19120822.2.88 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1912-08-22 |access-date=2011-03-05}}</ref>

[[File:WVRR Rosendale Station cropped.jpg|thumb|left|The Rosendale rail depot, once the largest on the [[Wallkill Valley Railroad|Wallkill Valley]] line, was destroyed in a 1923 fire]]
By 1910, the canal running through Rosendale had closed.{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=296}} On July&nbsp;5, 1911, the Jacob Rutsen house was hit by lightning and destroyed in a severe storm.{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=18}} The increased industrial use of [[Portland cement]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was detrimental to Rosendale's economy,{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=296}} and the village lost almost 70&nbsp;percent of its population between 1900 and 1920;<ref name="1920-census">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oei2AAAAIAAJ |title=Fourteenth census of the United States |page=262 |volume=1 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |year=1921 |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=2011-02-21}}</ref> only one cement factory remained open after 1920.{{sfn|Perls|2003|p=296}} In April 1923, the Rosendale railroad depot and its freight house were destroyed in a fire.<ref name="rosendale-station" />

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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rondout Valley Flood Receding |date=1928-08-28 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Firemen Pumped Out 5 Cellars At Rosendale |date=1928-08-29 |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY}}</ref> Other major floods occurred in March 1936,<ref name="record-floods" /> August 1955,<ref name="flood-vote">{{Cite news |title=Senate Votes $100,000 For Rosendale Floods |date=1963-12-11 |newspaper=New Paltz Independent and Times |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref> and October 1955.<ref name="record-floods">{{Cite news |title=Second Record Breaking Flood Spreads Destruction Over Large Area |date=1955-10-20 |newspaper=New Paltz Independent and Times |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref> The water was as high as {{convert|8|ft|m}} above the level of the street during the 1955 floods.<ref name="flood-retrospective" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |newspaper=Rosendale News |location=Rosendale, New York |date=1956-10-11 |title=Flood Committee Holds Dinner for Relief Leaders}}</ref>

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<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rosendale Village, Town Census Recount in March |date=1957-03-07 |newspaper=Rosendale News |location=Rosendale, NY}}</ref> and showed that the village's population had increased 16&nbsp;percent since the [[1950 United States census|1950 census]]. The village received additional state aid.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Census Reveals Rosendale Gains 25%; Marbletown Highest with 38% |date=1957-05-09 |newspaper=Rosendale News |location=Rosendale, NY}}</ref> 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&nbsp;32".<ref name="flood-vote"/>

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 [[Lightning strike|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,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rosendale Area Mourns Deaths Of Youths In Lightning Mishap In Neighborhood Park |newspaper=Rondout Valley Times |location=Stone Ridge, NY |date=1964-07-09}}</ref> who served as Rosendale's [[fire chief]]. Albert Morelli was part of the team that put out the fire at ''Reid's Village Inn''.<ref name="morelli">{{Cite news |title=Fire Razes Reid's Hotel |newspaper=Ellenville Journal |location=Ellenville, NY |date=1969-01-16}}</ref>

Rosendale had lost its [[Bowling|bowling alley]] to a 1967 fire,<ref>{{Cite news |title=List $100,000 Loss In Roseldale Blaze |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1967-11-06 |first=Walter S. |last=Clark, Jr.}}</ref> and, on January&nbsp;14, 1969, a local hotel burned down. The hotel, ''Reid's Village Inn'', was owned by village mayor Joseph Reid.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Reid's Hotel Razed by Fire |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1969-01-14 |first=Shane |last=Crosby}}</ref> 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<ref name="reid-fire">{{Cite news |title=Reid to Stay in Rosendale, Praises Work of Fire Fighters |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1969-01-16 |first=Lynn |last=Mulvaney}}</ref> and $75,000.<ref name="morelli" /> Within two days of the blaze, the village purchased a [[Fire apparatus|fire truck]] and scheduled hearings for [[alternate-side parking]] and [[water meter]] proposals.<ref name="reid-fire" /> By this time, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] had built a {{convert|325|ft|m|adj=on}} [[flood wall]], relocated several buildings, [[Dredging|dredged]] the bottom of the creek, and raised a {{convert|1000|ft|m|adj=on}} portion of Main Street about {{convert|3|ft|m}}.<ref name="flood-retrospective" /> The project caused the {{convert|12|acre|ha|adj=on}} island in the creek to become a [[peninsula]], connected to the northern bank.{{sfn|Fried|2005|pp=71, 73}} Since the completion of these projects, the village has not suffered floods as extreme as those of 1955.<ref name="flood-retrospective">{{Cite news |title=The '55 Flood: Rondout Creek's rampage on Rosendale |first=Jenny |last=Smith |date=1992-05-28 |newspaper=Huguenot Herald |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref>

[[File:Rosendale lime kiln 5.jpg|thumb|right|Defunct Rosendale [[cement kiln]]s; the last cement plant in the town closed in 1971]]
In 1970, Rosendale's mayor ran off after declaring that the village "had gone broke".<ref name="leisure" /> The commercial center of the village was shifting from Main Street ([[Concurrency (road)|concurrent]] with Route&nbsp;213) to Route&nbsp;32; businesses on Route&nbsp;32 included a [[department store]], [[butcher]] shop, [[nail salon]], [[barber]]shop, and restaurants. The village itself served as the commercial center of the town.<ref>{{Citation |title=Development Plan: Town & Village of Rosendale, New York |date=January 1969 |publisher=Brown & Anthony City Planners, Inc. |pages=SA-12, SA-18, SA-19, SA-28}}</ref> 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;<ref name="bad-vibes">{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E2DF163CF937A1575BC0A96E958260 |title=Bad Vibes in a Hippie Haven; Old-Timers Wary as 'Newcomers' Jump Into Politics |first=Joseph |last=Berger |date=1998-08-24 |access-date=2011-02-13 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> abandoned cement mines were eventually used by [[edible mushroom]] growers<ref name="village-dies" /> 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 [[Water purification|filtered]] water, maintain [[Maize|corn]] at a consistently cool temperature,<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.abouttownguide.com/ulster/articles/rosendale.shtml |title=Rosendale's Reusable Resource |journal=AboutTown of Ulster |publisher=AboutTOWN |access-date=2011-03-06 |first=Vivian |last=Wadlin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020625203310/http://www.abouttownguide.com/ulster/articles/rosendale.shtml |archive-date=2002-06-25 }}</ref> and house a [[Records management|records storage]] facility.<ref name="village-dies">{{Cite news |title=A village dies; a kingdom is born |first=Chris |last=Farlekas |newspaper=[[Times Herald-Record]] |location=Middletown, NY |date=1976-11-28}}</ref>

The {{convert|40|acre|ha|adj=on}} storage facility,{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=65}} operated by [[Iron Mountain Incorporated]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/NY3191/ |title=Iron Mountain Rosendale Storage Facility |access-date=2011-03-06 |publisher=[[Center for Land Use Interpretation]]}}</ref> consists of [[street light]]s amid two-story buildings,{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=64}} all "erected beneath the old limestone caves leased from" the [[Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District|Snyder Estate]]<ref name="cave-open" /> for 99 years.{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=64}} It was opened for a public viewing in 1976 to quell rumors<ref name="cave-open" /> that the "heavily guarded" facility, described as a "subterranean [[James Bond]] set",<ref>{{Cite news |title=The caves of Rosendale |date=1988-09-22 |newspaper=Huguenot Herald |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref> was part of a [[cave]] network that connected the village to Kingston, and that the facility was actually a [[fallout shelter]] for federal officials;<ref name="cave-open">{{Cite news |title=Open House Dispels Underground Mystique |first=Bea |last=Havranek |date=1976-03-31 |newspaper=Huguenot Herald |location=New Paltz, NY}}</ref> the facility is capable of withstanding a "direct [[Nuclear warfare|atomic hit]] on [nearby] [[Poughkeepsie, New York|Poughkeepsie]]". Sealed behind a {{convert|7+1/2|ST|adj=on}} steel door, the facility contains "its own [[Water well|well]] and&nbsp;... sewage system", and enough [[Electric generator|generators]] to remain self-sufficient for three months.{{sfn|Gilchrist|1976|p=64}}

=== Rise of hippie movement ===
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" |"Friendship is measured among these hippie types by passed swigs of wine: the communion of the hip."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | —Chris Farlekas, 1976<ref name="village-dies" />
|}
The man who suggested that the underground facility have a public exhibition was a local personality, Billy Guldy.<ref name="cave-open" /> 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 [[Monarch|king]],<ref name="village-dies" /> and frequently dressed as one. He owned a bar called "The Well",<ref name="riot">{{Cite news |newspaper=New Paltz News |location=New Paltz, NY |title=Rosendalers Respond To Riot |date=1975-07-07}}</ref> and a hotel in the village,<ref name="warp">{{Cite news |title=A Depression-flavored time warp, where freaks, former beats and the new hip meet—on one side of the street |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1976-09-26}}</ref> and his portrait was painted on the door of a local bar. He declared [[Halloween]] a national holiday, ran for [[President of the United States|president]], and led 200 people in a parade down Main Street.<ref name="village-dies" /> At one point Guldy took a bus to [[Yankee Stadium]] to give baseball player [[Fred Stanley (baseball)|Fred Stanley]] the "key to Rosendale".<ref name="warp" /> Some older residents considered Guldy crazy,<ref name="village-dies" /> 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.<ref name="warp" />

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

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.<ref name="warp" /> Puusemp was not a native of Rosendale and had not lived there long.{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=209}} By early July 1975, Puusemp had appointed a village [[Animal control officer|dog warden]] after a dog bit a child and was allowed to run about the streets unrestrained.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Warden Named After Dog Injures Child |newspaper=New Paltz News |location=New Paltz, NY |date=1975-07-02}}</ref>

=== Disincorporation ===
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" | "This village is not a heritage&nbsp;... it is a luxury we can no longer afford."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | —Mayor Raivo Puusemp, 1976<ref name="warp" />
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | "In ''Rosendale, A Public Work'', the attempt was made to superimpose a formal concept upon an essentially directionless political microsystem and to affect that system permanently by doing so..."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | —Raivo Puusemp, 1980{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=117}}
|}
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" |"The genre was the village and its survival problems. The frame was concentrated in a geographical place&nbsp;... The public, more properly the participants, were the townspeople, Mayor Puusemp, county officials, lawyers, representatives of the federal government, and the publishers and readers of area newspapers. The purpose, like that I have suggested for such art, was therapeutic: to cure a local illness and allow village life&nbsp;... to go on more constructively."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | —[[Allan Kaprow]], 2003{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=211}}
|}
When [[Raivo Puusemp]], a [[conceptual art]]ist and art instructor at [[Ulster County Community College|SUNY Ulster]],{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=209}} became mayor of Rosendale, the village was plagued by an "overbearing tax structure and problems with its municipal utilities".{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=117}} Though [[Unincorporated area|disincorporation]] was already known as a possible solution to the village's crises,{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=210}} it had been an "emotionally charged issue" and no action had been taken. By this time Rosendale "could [no longer] govern itself".{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=209}} The village and town governments had often been at odds; the town was governed by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]], while the village was increasingly under [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] control. This friction manifested in several ways. Town and village officials would frequently disrupt each other's meetings, and the town ordered its [[snowplow|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.<ref name="leisure">{{Cite journal |title=Goodbye Rosendale? A Village the Town Won't Miss |first=Charles |last=Bermpohl |date=1976-02-08 |page=9 |journal=Mid-Hudson Leisure}}</ref>

During his campaign, Puusemp did not mention disincorporation or how it related to art,{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=118}} though he had already decided two months before the election that the only solution to the village's problems was disincorporation.{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=117}} 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&nbsp;... compatibly".<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.centrepompidou.fr/PDF/BenKinmont-ENG.pdf |title=On becoming something else |date=2009-10-06 |access-date=2011-03-01 |first=Ben |last=Kinmont |publisher=[[Centre Georges Pompidou]] |pages=3–4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720210819/http://www.centrepompidou.fr/PDF/BenKinmont-ENG.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref>

Viewing the "project [as] an artwork in the form of a political problem",{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=209}} 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".{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=117}} 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".{{sfn|Benjamin|Nathan|2001|p=165}} A public [[referendum]] on the dissolution was held on March&nbsp;16, 1976,<ref name="leisure" /> which passed in a 2–1 landslide.<ref name="gov-dissolve" /> Puusemp resigned as mayor on October&nbsp;1, and moved to [[Utah]] with his family.<ref name="village-dies" /> He vowed never to run for office again.<ref name="warp" /> During his tenure in office, and in the aftermath of his resignation, Puusemp received widespread popular support.{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=210}}

Marc Phelan, a village trustee and associate of Puusemp,{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=209}} became mayor following Puusemp's departure.{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|p=210}} He was reelected the following March with 141 votes, beating three other candidates to become the village's last mayor.<ref>{{Cite news |title=On the light side |newspaper=[[Merced Sun-Star]] |publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]] |location=Merced, CA |date=1977-03-17 |access-date=2011-11-18 |page=3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PjBcAAAAIBAJ&pg=4308%2C2013875}}</ref> Rosendale became unincorporated on January&nbsp;1, 1977,<ref name="village-dies" /> though the village government did not disband until the end of 1977;<ref name="gov-dissolve" /> the village completely ceased to exist "at the stroke of midnight on Dec.&nbsp;31, 1977".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20001006/NEWS/310069985 |title=Municipal schizophrenia reigns |newspaper=[[Times Herald-Record]] |location=Middletown, NY |date=2000-10-06 |access-date=2011-03-08 |first=Jeremiah |last=Horrigan}}</ref> 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.<ref name="gov-dissolve" />

Puusemp documented the dissolution by collecting "press clippings, council meeting minutes, and public documents"{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=118}} and publishing them after his friend, performance artist [[Paul McCarthy]], urged him to do so.{{sfn|Kaprow|2003|pp=210–211}} Both the book and the dissolution of Rosendale Village itself can be considered different facets of the same artistic work.{{sfn|Purves|2004|p=118}} The [[1980 United States census|1980 census]] listed Rosendale Village as a [[census-designated place]] (CDP).<ref name="1980-census">{{Cite book |title=1980 Census of Population |volume=1 |page=34-34 |access-date=2011-02-21 |year=1980 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpUXAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> The former village is also considered a [[Hamlet (New York)|hamlet]], an unofficial term which refers to a named but unincorporated place in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lg/publications/Local_Government_Handbook.pdf |title=Local Government Handbook - Village Government: Dissolution |year=2009 |edition=6th |publisher=[[New York State Department of State]] |pages=67, 72–73 |access-date=2011-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225225115/http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lg/publications/Local_Government_Handbook.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-25 }}</ref> Rosendale Village is the largest [[voting bloc]] in the town of Rosendale,<ref name="gov-dissolve" /> and of all former villages in the [[Hudson Valley]], Rosendale was the last to dissolve.<ref>{{Cite news |title=More towns and villages consider merging their services |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090719/NEWS/307199960 |newspaper=[[Times Herald-Record]] |location=Middletown, NY |date=2009-07-19 |access-date=2011-03-08 |first=Meghan E. |last=Murphy}}</ref>

=== 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&nbsp;percent, from 1,220 to an estimated 1,519 people.<ref name="dissolution-report">{{Cite web |url=http://www.wellsvilleny.com/pdf%20files/village%20forms/Hattery_I_Report.pdf |title=Final Report: Wellsville Town-Village Municipal Study: Discussion of Organizational Form Options, Joint Budget and Service Delivery Summary With Recommendations for Action |first=Michael R. |last=Hattery |pages=4–5 |publisher=[[Wellsville (village), New York|Village of Wellsville]] |date=June 1998 |access-date=2011-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130063751/http://wellsvilleny.com/pdf%20files/village%20forms/Hattery_I_Report.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-30 }}</ref><ref name="census" /> The same year that the village chose to disincorporate, the Wallkill Valley rail line that ran through the village also ceased regular service.{{sfn|Mabee|1995|p=135}}

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.<ref name="main-street">{{Cite news |title=Main Streeters lead Rosendale renaissance |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=1988-01-31 |first=Claudie |last=Chaneles}}</ref>

On September&nbsp;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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.centuryhouse.org/the-society/the-chhs-charter/|title=The CHHS Charter – Century House Historical Society}}</ref> 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.<ref name="bad-vibes" /> The Widow Jane Mine has been the site of poetry readings, Taiko drumming, "all-night raves, Halloween horror shows and role-playing vampire games".<ref name="widow-jane">{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2002/07/12/life/4713544.txt |title=Bang |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=2002-07-12 |access-date=2011-02-13 |first=Blaise |last=Schweitzer}}</ref> It is also one of the few mines in Rosendale that is almost [[Room and pillar|completely horizontal]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.centuryhouse.org/widjmine.html |title=The Widow Jane Mine |publisher=Century House Historic Society |access-date=2011-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719065937/http://www.centuryhouse.org/widjmine.html |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> and is part of the [[Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District]].<ref name="catskills-live">{{Cite web |url=http://www.catskillslive.org/QuadricentennialChallengeGeocaches/WidowJaneMine/index.htm |title=Quadricentennial Challenge: Widow Jane Mine |publisher=Catskill Live! Trails & Wilderness Association |access-date=2011-02-13}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rosendalestreetfestival.org/2018/|title=The Rosendale Street Festival|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> Rosendale has held an annual [[Pickled cucumber|pickle]] festival since 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101122/NEWS/11220325 |title=Crowds are tickled by pickles in Rosendale |first=Alyssa |last=Sunkin |date=2010-11-22 |access-date=2011-02-13 |newspaper=[[Times Herald-Record]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones Local Media Group]] |location=Middletown, NY}}</ref> 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 [[Microbrewery|microbreweries]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS/711190318 |title=Pickle festival highlights food as social statement |first=Meghan E. |last=Murphy |date=2007-11-19 |access-date=2011-02-13 |newspaper=[[Times Herald-Record]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones Local Media Group]] |location=Middletown, NY}}</ref> The pickle festival was originally started by Eri Yamaguchi and Bill Brooks,<ref>{{Cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720012039/http://www.newpaltz.edu/oracle/article.cfm?id=1615 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url=http://www.newpaltz.edu/oracle/article.cfm?id=1615 |title=Pickles Tickle Rosendale |date=2004-12-02 |access-date=2011-02-15 |publisher=[[State University of New York at New Paltz|SUNY New Paltz]] |location=New Paltz, NY |newspaper=New Paltz Oracle |first=Samantha |last=Camillery |volume=76 |issue=10}}</ref> as a way to introduce Ulster County to pickled [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese food]], such as [[Tsukemono|oshinko]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/view/full_story/10363815/article--Brine-trust-13th-annual-International-Pickle-Festival-returns-to-Rosendale-this-Sunday- |title=Brine trust: 13th annual International Pickle Festival returns to Rosendale this Sunday |date=2010-11-18 |access-date=2011-02-15 |publisher=[[Ulster Publishing]] |newspaper=Hudson Valley Times |location=Kingston, NY |first=Frances Marion |last=Platt}}</ref> The festival has featured [[Japanese traditional dance|Japanese traditional dancing]].<ref>{{Cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720012140/http://www.newpaltz.edu/oracle/article.cfm?id=479 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url=http://www.newpaltz.edu/oracle/article.cfm?id=479 |title=A different kind of festival |date=2002-12-05 |access-date=2011-02-15 |publisher=[[State University of New York at New Paltz|SUNY New Paltz]] |location=New Paltz, NY |newspaper=New Paltz Oracle |first=Alexander R. |last=Brown |volume=74 |issue=11}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://picklefest.com/6.html |title=The Life of the Rosendale International Pickle Festivals |publisher=International Pickle Festival |first1=Bill |last1=Brooks |first2=Cathy |last2=Brooks |year=2004 |access-date=2011-02-14}}</ref> Rosendale also holds a recurring winter festival known as "Frozendale",<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2006/02/10/entertainment/16098328.txt |title=Rosendale brings the love with festival |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=2006-02-10 |first=Bonnie |last=Langston |access-date=2011-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2007/12/07/entertainment/19092858.txt |title=Rosendale turns into 'Frozendale' |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=2007-12-07 |access-date=2011-02-13}}</ref> and in late September 2010, the hamlet had a [[zombie (fictional)|zombie]]-themed festival.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/09/24/entertainment/doc4c9bf77833636441294770.txt |title=Zombie parade, festival in Rosendale on Saturday |newspaper=[[Daily Freeman]] |location=Kingston, NY |date=2010-09-24 |access-date=2011-02-14}}</ref> Rosendale has also held two Mermaid Parades in recent years the first in 2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newpaltzx.com/2015/07/06/rosendale-gets-festive-for-pool-fund-with-new-mermaid-parade/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707011439/http://www.newpaltzx.com/2015/07/06/rosendale-gets-festive-for-pool-fund-with-new-mermaid-parade/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 7, 2015|title = Rosendale gets festive for Pool Fund with new Mermaid Parade - Hudson Valley One|date = 6 July 2015}}</ref> and the second in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rosendalevictorian.wixsite.com/mermaid-parade/portraits|title = Participants}}</ref> Historically, Rosendale's festivals have "draw[n as many as] 30,000 people".<ref name="bad-vibes" />