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A Concise History of
Natural Cement in America
Reprinted from “The Development of Cement”
published by Century Cement Manufacturing Co., Inc. 1950
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our sincere thanks goes out to the Century House Historic
Society for their diligence and dedication in preserving and
keeping alive the history of American Natural Cements and the
heritage of the Greater Rosendale Natural Cement region. For
more information please contact them at:
The Century House Historical Society
The Snyder Estate
P.O. Box 150
Rosendale, NY 12472
centuryhouse.org
In the United States the cement industry began in
1818 with the discovery of natural cement rock near
Chittenango, New York by Canvass White. White
applied to the State of New York for the exclusive right
to manufacture the cement for twenty years. His request
was denied but the State awarded him with $20,000.00
in recognition of his valuable discovery. This cement
was used in the Erie Canal. In 1825 while building the
Delaware and Hudson Canal, a natural cement rock was
discovered in Rosendale, New York. The building of the
Louisville Portland canal saw the discovery of natural
cement rock at Louisville, Kentucky in 1829. Then in
1838 cement rock was found at Utica, Illinois. Ten years
later during the James River project it was discovered
in Virginia. In 1840 in Akron, Ohio, Pennsylvania 1850,
Ft. Scott, Kansas 1868, the Buffalo area 1874 and the
Minnesota area in 1875.
The Delaware and hudson Canal was built to ship coal from the Lackawanna Valley to the City of New
York. At that time, coal was practically unknown as a fuel in the New York area; cord wood being
depended upon to furnish heat.
Work was progressing along the route of the canal in the vicinity of Rosendale, New York through the
farm land of Jacob L. Snyder, when it became necessary to do some blasting. The rock, as blasted,
had a very homogeneous appearance and it was believed to be limestone. To the farmer, lime was an
important commodity, so some of the
fragments of the rock were gathered
up and brought to a blacksmith shop
at High Falls. The stone was burned
in the forge and attempts were made to
slake it by pouring water upon it. The
calcined material, soft and chalky after
burning, did not slake but on the other
hand, after a few hours, had lost all of
its chalkiness and began to harden. The
engineer in charge of the construction,
on learning this, thought and thought
rightly that it was a natural cement.
More of the stone was calcined, pounded to a powder on a blacksmith’s anvil and mixed with water.
After a short time, the pat set. It had been planned to obtain the cement necessary for the canal locks
from Chittenango, New York, but with the discovery of the cement rock along the route of the canal,
a contract was awarded to a Mr. John Littlejohn to supply the canal’s needs. He built a “pot” kiln in
which the burning of each charge was a separate operation. The pot kiln was a shaft excavated in the
side of a hill and lined with the cement rock. At the base of the kiln an “eye” was formed. The “eye”
which was a shaft at a right angle to the main shaft of the kiln was filled with cordwood and an arch of
large cement rocks, to act like a grate, was formed just above the cordwood. The kiln was then filled
with broken cement stone and the cordwood was ignited. The burning continued until the stone at the
top fo the kiln was calcined. Then the entire charge was withdrawn. The calcined rock was then sorted
and ground in the old Snyder grist mill.
In 1827 a stock company, the Rosendale Manufacturing Company was organized with a capital stock
of $250, 000.00. About one year later Watson E. Lawrence built the the first commercial mill for the
manufacture of Rosendale cement. He obtained a lease from Jacob L. Snyder and opened a quarry on
that property. Lawrence’s plant consisted of two intermittent kilns and a small water powered mill.
Lawrence’s tasks were immense as very little information about he manufacture of cement was available
and many processes had to be worked out. The drilling of the rock was a slow laborious process. A
pointed iron rod was held by one man and then struck with a hammer by a second man. The rock
was hard and the drill rod required
repeated sharpenings. Sometimes it
took hours to drill one hole. When
the hole was ready, it was nearly
filled with black gun powder, a fuse
was inserted, and the hole capped
with clay. This fuse was made of
paper which had been immersed in a
solution of salt peter and dried. The
treated paper was twisted tightly, and
protruded through the clay seal. This
paper was then ignited and the man
who had charge of the blasting ran for his life to shelter. After the rock had been blasted it was broken
down by hand with sledges into sizes suitable for the kilns.
The first kilns were of the type wherein the charge was fired, allowed to cool off, and then the entire
charge was drawn. Cordwood was used as fuel and the burning period took from five to six days; the
kilns were then recharged and the entire procedure repeated. The charge, as drawn, contained some
raw and some over burnt materials. These were carefully sorted and the raw material being used in
the next kiln charge while the over-burnt material was discarded. This was found necessary not only
from a technical standpoint but also from a mechanical one. The mill equipment would grind neither
the hard, over-burnt clinker, nor the hard, under-burnt stone. The grinding equipment was built on
the same principal as a grist mill. The millstone was quarried in the vicinity along the slope of the
Shawangunk Mountain. The stone,
called Shawangunk grit, was a quartz
conglomerate in which the cement
substance of the grit is a silica which
formed a matrix for the grains but
did not fill the voids, thus producing
the bur or cutting surface. The layers
were uncovered by stripping and
then lifted out by bars and wedges,
working the natural joint places for
size. The block was then worked into
a disc with the aid of a hand hammer
and point. The next operation was to
drill the center hole or eye. The stone
was then grooved. This operation
built up to a considerable industry in
latter years.
Lawrence was soon joined in a partnership by a Mr. John Apstin who formerly had held a Federal
government position. The United States at this time was a young republic, just budding into its great
later day position. In some mysterious way the second war with England had netted the United States
considerable national prestige and started the country on a grand career of expansion and assertiveness.
There was a strong urge all over the republic to show it’s surging strength with monumental
government edifices. Apstin succeeded in winning important government purchases of the cement
for federal projects. This called for mill expansion and extensive new mill buildings were erected and
costly improvements made. Now, other men came into the valley and started to build plants for the
manufacture of cements. Then came the panic of 1837 and there was a great shortage of hard money
and many concerns issued script money. Among these concerns was the Rosendale Cement Company.
A reproduction of piece of this script of the value of 12 ½ cents, used to pay his employees, will be found
on another page of this booklet.
Hugh White, who had started his cement works in 1830 and who had furnished the cement for the
Croton Reservoir and its aqueducts, was succeeded by the Newark & Rosendale cement company
which had, by 1847, speeded up production to 1,000 bbls daily. Three years later A. J. Snyder erected a
battery of kilns and started to calcine cement rock. Shortly after that, he erected his first mill.
The cement rock at first had been quarried but as the over burden increased and became more heavy,
it was necessary to drive headings into the vein and open a mine. Because of the visibility it was
customary to mine to a certain distance and then to return to the outside and pierce a new opening
some thirty feet or so further along the ledge. These would then be worked at right angles until they
connected up and then the miners would go back to the outside and repeat this procedure. In this way,
they would have a series of adits which gave them light to work with. As it became necessary to work
deeper into the mine, kerosene torches became the source of light. These torches gave off a dense black
smoke but at the time they were the only means of illumination.
The vein was about twenty-two feet thick
with definite “let goes” at both the top
and the bottom. They copied from their
successful adits the scheme of allowing
thirty foot pillars of stone to hold up the
roof as they progressed further and further
underground. The mines were a series of
rooms with pillars.
Drilling of the rock was still done by
hand. however, drill steels were better and skilled blacksmiths were part of the mine crew whose chief
duties were to keep the drill steel in shape. There also grew up a skilled trade known as “Hammerers”.
“Hammerers” were the elite of the mine crew. Working in pairs, they would drill scores of feet of holes
into the stone per day. They were paid by the “footage” and their hammers would strike the drill with
an almost mechanical rapidity, yet with amazing accuracy.
The old type of intermittent kiln
had long since vanished from
the scene. It had been erratic in
behavior and uneconomical due
to the enormous heat loss. It was
replaced by vertical continuous
draw type kiln. These kilns were
built in batteries, generally against
a hill side; they were about 40 feet
high and ten feet in diameter, lined
with brick.
The cement stone and fuel were placed in the kiln in alternate layers. Each day about one-fourth of the
calcined rock would be withdrawn from the base of the kiln and a new charge of raw stone and fuel to
refill the kiln would be placed in the top of the kiln. Coal which had been coming down the Delaware
and Hudson Canal was now used as fuel. It was anthracite coal known as pea screenings. Kiln burning
became another skilled trade, and an experienced kiln burner enjoyed quite some local renown. This
trade was often handed down from father to son.
Thus with true American resourcefulness, the manufacturers worked out their processes so that they
could supply almost any market demand.
From the 1830’s to the 1860s Rosendale cement was used to the greatest extend in mortars, but
its excellent results under water, in cement bound macadam, and in plum filled mortar led to the
development of concrete as we know it today. Around 1836 the United States Patent Office was built
of Rosendale cement. In 1851, the wings of the United States Capitol in Washington were started. This
was a Rosendale cement job and the foundations are Rosendale concrete. The United States Treasury
building is also Rosendale cement built.
Work was commenced on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1870. At the time it was an engineering feat of
vast magnitude whose dimensions, character, and importance had no parallel in the history of bridge
building in America. It’s total length is about one mile and the towers are an average of 334 feet above
the foundation. This was a complete Rosendale cement job. The concrete was one part of Rosendale
cement, two parts of sand, and three parts of gravel and stone chips. Each tower foundation required
about 4,000 cubic yards of concrete. In 1936, New York City surveyed the Brooklyn Bridge as they
planned to enlarge it in the future. They now intend to replace everything except the towers, suspension
cable, and anchorages. These towers and abutments were as good, on being inspected, as the day the
bridge was opened, and the engineers predicted they
will last anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years longer.
In the tidal range of salt water bearing sewage,
industrial waste, and flotsam, the cement remains
intact, free from chemical disintegration through over
one-half century of New York winters. That is true
permanence.
In the 1880’s the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty
was built in three lifts. The lowest lift was made
of straight Rosendale cement concrete, the middle
lift was a blend of Rosendale cement with portland
cement. The top lift above the range of tidal waters
was straight portland cement imported from Europe.
The granite facing was laid in mortar made from
portland cement and lime. The granite facing has
been repointed from time to time, but the Rosendale
concrete pedestal has required no repairs of any
nature.
Railways, waterworks, sewerage systems, architectural and engineering works all depended upon and
used vast quantities of ROSENDALE CEMENT. Many of these old structures are still in full service,
substantially as good as the day they were built.
Natural cement production grew from 100,000 bbls. in the 1830s to 10,000,000bbls in 1899. At the peak
of the industry, in the Rosendale district, some twenty plants were employing 5,000 men and turned out
4,000,000 bbls per year.
About 1894 portland cement had come into general use. At first it made little impression on the
consumption of natural cement. Then portland cement makers began cutting prices. The price dropped
to 75 cents per bbl. and even to 65 cents per bbl. This fierce competition resulted in the failure of many
plants. In the early 1900s the first large structure of its type that was built completely from a portland
cement, calcined in a rotary kiln, was the Boonton Dam. The Boonton Dam was to be part of the water
supply of Jersey City. Rosendale cement was specified for its construction. On the Board of Water
Supply was a director of the Atlas Portland Cement Company. He proposed to supply the Jersey City
job with portland from his company at the same coast as would be obtained by purchasing Rosendale
cement. Needless to say, it was built with portland cement.
Then portland cement gained ascendency over natural cement. Portland hardened very rapidly and
thus was more economical. Natural became “too slow”. In 1900 natural cement and portland each
produced around eight and one-half million barrels. A steady decline began in the production of natural
cement until in 1910 when the industry was producing only about one million barrels. The natural
cement industry has remained around this level. Until recently, its tonnage was used almost entirely
in the manufacture of cements for masonry work. In the Rosendale district the plants after the start
of the twentieth century began to close down until in 1920 only one plant was maintaining production.
The plant was run by A.J. Snyder, the great grandson of the man who helped start the cement industry
in America. Snyder stubbornly maintained that Rosendale cement held the record of durability in
America, surpassing any cement in this respect. In 1929 a new modern one million dollar natural
cement mill was built in Rosendale.
In the meantime, the portland cement
industry, who had adopted the slogan
“Concrete for Permanence” was
running into some difficulties keeping
this slogan’s integrity. An alarmingly
large fraction of their concrete was
disintegrating at early ages and not
giving the service for which it was
intended. Early replacements were
necessary.
Meanwhile, engineers and chemists of the Empire State observed that Rosendale built structures did
endure. They wondered if the old time durability of Rosendale could be combined with the speed
of modern portland cements. This was tried and it worked. Then the United States Public Roads
Administration thoroughly tested it and approved its use in federal aid roads and structures. Then four
more states tried it and made it a standard practice. Consulting engineers and Industrial Maintenance
men in increasing numbers began
specifying the Rosendale blend
for durable concrete.
PERMANENCY OF BOND
Wall strengths cannot be
definitely evaluated from cube
or cylinder strengths of the
cement; if the mortar and brick
fail to weld themselves into an
integral unit and each remains
as individual units of a wall,
unbonded together, then the
wall regardless of the cement’s
strength remains weak.
The prime requisite of a
masonry cement should
be workability. Mortars
that are harsh working
and which require strength
as well as skill when used
in laying bricks have a
poor start toward any
permanency of bond.
Mortar that can be placed
with a minimum of effort,
that spreads easily, adheres
to the brick and retains
its water is sure to attain
a permanent bond. Each
of us works best under
favorable conditions
and we tend to rebel if
something unnecessarily
makes our job harder to
do. Skillful masons cannot
produce their best work
if they have to labor with
inferior materials. The
inherent plasticity of
Rosendale natural cement
based mortars assures a
permanent bond.
We are not citing any laboratory tests to call this to your attention, but would like you to read the
following article published in the NEW YORK SUN. It is just one instance of many that we know
about and as the source of the story is entirely unrelated to the field of cement, you can be sure that it
is told unbiased. The mortar and bricks of this old Tweed Courthouse have adhered with such tenacity
that the structure, built of individual units, has become similar to that of a monolith. Rosendale cement’s
adhesiveness to the masonry unit can not be doubted. Another proven example of durability. These are
the underlined passages above from The New York Sun, April 17, 1942. “Look at that brick. Why it’s
set in natural cement and we have to drill out every inch of it. It’s set harder than granite.” “It’s built
like a fort!” said one of the workmen. “If bomb shelters were built as solidly a direct hit wouldn’t even
shake the place”. Demolition work on ordinary brick construction work is easy, one of the men said.
Century Brand is the collision of two worlds in historic preservation. Ken Uracius
has nearly 40 years in the masonry industry, working on some of the largest new
construction and restoration projects in the country. In 2002 he began experimenting
with the exact same stone that was used to make mortars for many of our architectural
treasures, especially those in America’s major US cities, from a little town in upstate
New York named Rosendale, and in the process created Freedom Cement and became
one of the biggest advocates for restoring historic structures with like materials. After
15 years in the historic mortars business and the closing of Virginia Lime Works, Jeff
Price joined Ken at Freedom Cement as Director of Sales and Marketing. Together,
Freedom Cement was relaunched as Century Brand, makers of traditional Rosendale
cement, importers of Vicat Prompt Natural Cements and Lafarge Natural Hydraulic
Limes, and providers of an unparalleled level of expertise in the field of historic
preservation.
Century Brand Rosendale Cement
Century Brand Rosendale Cement
Cement Works & Plant
Sales Office
24 East Brookfield Rd.
1022 Commerce St. Suite 2B
North Brookfield, MA 01535
Lynchburg VA 24504
866-254-7277
434-219-6305
www.HistoricMortars.com