Cement District Maps

Collection — Case: Flat File Drawer 14

Identifier: MSS 2022.0002

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The maps in this collection comrpise a selection of maps from various sources which detail the industrial landscape around the hamlets of Cementon/Smith's Landing and Alsen in the Town of Catskill during the first quarter of the 20th century. The first map in the collection gives a broad overview of the full scope of land ownership by cement companies in what is styled the "Catskill Cement District" by the mapmaker. Three cement plants are shown in the map along with related workers housing complexes and quarry facilities. The other four maps in the collection show the facilities of the Alpha Portland Cement Company, the Alpha Quarry, and ammendments to the railroad siding and highway for the Alpha Cement Co.

Dates

1909

Biographical / Historical

The southeastern corner of the Town of Catskill is dominated by geological formations of limestone which were ideally suited for the creation of Portland Cement at the end of the 19th century. By 1930 three large cement operations were engaged in the extraction and processing of limestone within a mile of the Hudson River along the Route 9W corridor near the Ulster County Line. These facilities were major employers, initially relying heavily on immigrant laborers from Europe. The cement plants necessitated the development of substantial infrastructure to support not only the industrial operations of the plants themselves, but the social and logistical requirements of a large workforce. Worker's housing was built and provided by at least two of the cement plants, while the hamlet of Cementon was developed separately for workers who were able to buy and own their own houses. A more complete examination of this topic and community can be found in two booklets by Joe Pavlak, and researchers should also examine the Frank Mucich Memorial Collection.