Widow Jane Mine is a former cement mine located west of Rosendale, New York. The mine was active from 1825 to 1970 and is now part of the Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District.
- Venue
- Widow Jane Mine
- Town
- Rosendale, US
Widow Jane Mine is a former cement mine located west of Rosendale, New York. The mine was active from 1825 to 1970 and is now part of the Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District. Dolomite extracted from the mine was used to make Rosendale cement which was widely used in the 19th century, contributing to the base of the Statue of Liberty among other structures. Since the closure of Widow Jane Mine in 1970, the unique acoustics of its chambers have led to its use as a performance venue. The Century House Historical Society, which oversees the property, hosts a summer concert series in the mine. An annual Subterranean Poetry Festival is held there as well. It has been used as a recording studio, a venue for plays, and an art exhibition space. 80% of the mine is underwater. According to the Century House Historical Society, the widow Jane was likely Jane LeFevre Snyder (1820-1904), who lived at the Century House on the Snyder Estate. Considered a tragic, yet beloved figure within the community of Ulster County, she was 31 years old when her husband James Snyder died in 1852. Among her children were four boys, all of whom died in infancy. Engineers working on the Delaware and Hudson Canal found extensive outcrops of dolomite at Joppenbergh Mountain in 1825. The deposits contained an ideal amount of clay minerals that, once pulverized and mixed, could be turned into Rosendale cement, a natural cement without additives. Widow Jane Mine was established in 1825 on property owned by the Snyder family. It is a drift mine, constructed using the room and pillar technique, where pillars of dolomite have been left to support the overlying rock. The mine is more or less horizontal with the mining following the limestone seams at nearly 90-degree angles. Entrances to the Widow Jane Mine were created to be large enough to accommodate wagons and horses and for the transportation of waste rock and dolomite. Workers used sledgehammers to drive star drills into the rock and carve