It once contained a village Rosendale, primarily centered around Main Street, but which was dissolved through vote in 1977.

At the time of the European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Lenapes, who were a member of the Algonquian peoples.

[3] The area which was eventually known as Rosendale is generally attributed to having been founded by Jacob Rutsen in 1680 from 600 acres purchased from the Lenapes straddling the Rondout Creek.

Initially, the land was leased but Rutsen expanded his holdings and built a homestead, in which he resided from 1700 until his death in 1730.

Hamilton Child of Syracuse, New York published a "Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ulster County, N.

[a] In the mid 1800s priests from St. Peter's in Poughkeepsie served missions in Saugerties and Rondout.

[5] St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was organized by Father Thomas Martin O.P., pastor of St. Mary's in Rondout.

Edward Lynch, assistant at St. Mary's, was named pastor of the new parish of St. Peter's, Rosendale.

Given the ever-increasing Catholic population, attracted by the opportunity of employment in the cement quarries, plus the Delaware & Hudson Canal, a new, larger church building, designed by Arthur Crooks, was built.

The Rosendale natural cement industry began during the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1825.

[6] Rosendale natural cement soon gained a reputation for quality among engineers and was used in the construction of many of the United States' most important landmarks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Federal Hall National Memorial, and one of the wings of the United States Capitol.

A mine on the property of the Snyder Estate, which is maintained as part of a museum preserving the history of the Rosendale natural cement industry by the Century House Historical Society, is open to the public.

The records storage management company Iron Mountain currently maintains at least one mine for storing anything from microfiche to data backup tapes.