Editing Rosendale (CDP), New York (section)

=== 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}}