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The 1850 House Inn

Rosendale's Historic Hotel

History Is Revived At The 1850 House Inn & Tavern and a new era dawns for Rosendale's most celebrated historic landmark as a legendary Ulster County hotel and beloved community icon that has dominated the Main Street landscape for nearly two centuries is once again open to guests for the first time in decades as The 1850 House Inn & Tavern. This is so much more than the average bed & breakfast.

"Rosendale"
By Gilberto Villahermosa

Founded in 1680 by Jacob Rutsen, Rosendale was a quiet hamlet until 1825, when natural cement was discovered during construction of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, giving rise to one of the largest industries in Ulster County and New York State. At its peak, Rosendale's cement industry produced more than ten million barrels of natural cement annually (worth a third of a billion dollars today), employing 5,000 miners in more than a dozen companies and fifteen mines, making it the largest producer of natural cement in the nation. Rosendale cement was used in many of New York's and North America's most iconic structures, including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Station, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the U.S. Treasury Building. The introduction of cheaper and easier to produce Portland cement resulted in the collapse of the Rosendale cement industry in the early 1900s. The empty cement mines, however, soon became home to the largest mushroom growing industry in the United States, providing the mushrooms for Campbell's mushroom soup. In the 1950s and 60s, during the Cold War, the mines were used to house underground shelters for many of America's largest corporations, with one company building a 65-room hotel deep beneath the town. In the meantime, Rosendale rebounded, marketing itself as a "Vacationist Rendezvous." The Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains, the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek, and the region's many mountain houses attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year. Ironically, construction of the New York State Thruway in the 1950s, also built with Rosendale cement, led to the demise of Rosendale's booming tourist industry. Today, Joppenbergh Mountain and the trestle bridge, once the longest curved railroad bridge in America, stand guard over the town. Rosendale's many historic buildings – the Old Dutch Reformed Church, St. Peter's Church, the Rosendale Library, The Rosendale Cafe, The 1850 House - and the remnants of the Delaware & Hudson Canal harken residents and visitors back to an earlier age.
white florish with pineapple
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old photo of the town
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another black and white photo of the area
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old photo of the 1850 house

Under the management of Michael Ruger, The 1850 House Inn & Tavern has resumed its former glory with room accommodations, gourmet breakfasts, a neighborhood tavern, restaurant, and pet-friendly waterfront deck. The historic inn is nestled on the banks of the Rondout Creek in the lush countryside of the Hudson Valley and situated in the center of the charming town of Rosendale. The 1850 House Inn & Tavern is within walking distance to some of the area galleries, boutiques and is just down the street from film screenings and a variety of live events at the Rosendale Theatre. Only ninety miles from Manhattan, The 1850 House Inn & Tavern is easily accessible by car, by train, and by bus. The area offers biking, hiking and walking trails that traverse the forests of the region. This unique Ulster County Inn is centrally located and just minutes from the many diverse activities found in the region.

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Though the Dutch settled the village centuries ago, Rosendale's Main Street truly exploded into life in 1825, with the discovery of natural cement. This movement resulted in the proliferation of restaurants, shops, and a theatre which in recent years have all experienced a renaissance which helps to preserve a vision of small-town America that some may feel exists only in the past.
At The 1850 House Inn & Tavern, the past is alive and well in the form of beautiful oversized photographic reproductions of antique photographs and postcards from the collections of Rosendale families that are lovingly partnered with nostalgia-tinged furnishings. These special touches are a constant reminder of the hotel's vibrant, active role throughout that history; A role that now, once again, The 1850 House Inn & Tavern will proudly play.

The stunning red brick hotel on Rosendale's Main Street has seen many changes and many chapters in its centuries-spanning life.
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