Portal:Hudson Valley/Selected article/46

Joppenbergh Mountain is a nearly 500 ft mountain in Rosendale Village in Ulster County, New York. It was named after Rosendale's founder, Jacob Rutsen, and mined throughout the late 19th century for dolostone that was used for the manufacture of natural cement. There was a large cave-in on December 19, 1899, that destroyed mining equipment and collapsed shafts within the mountain. Though it was feared that several workers had been killed, the collapse happened during lunch, and all the miners were outside, eating. Since the collapse, the mountain has experienced shaking and periodic rockfalls.

During the late 1930s, Joppenbergh became the site of several ski jumping competitions, which continued until the early 1940s. The mountain's slope was coated with borax in July 1937 for a summer tournament. Skiing stopped until the 1960s, when a new slope was built, and competitions were held until 1971. The town leased a tract of land near the mountain in 2004 to build a municipal parking lot. Joppenbergh, the municipal parking lot, and an adjoining park were put up for sale in 2009. In March 2011, the Open Space Institute offered to purchase the entire 117 acre property and sell it to the town. Rosendale's town board initially agreed to the deal, but a review of the town's expenses determined that the money budgeted for the purchase had already been spent. Archives • Read more...