Hudson Cement Company’s Cement Works

Hudson River Cement Works

Location: East Kingston, NY

History
The Hudson Cement Company began its operations next to the Hudson River in East Kingston in the late 1950’s. The area is known for producing raw construction materials including, quarried limestone, bricks and cement. The cement from the Hudson Valley region (known as Rosendale Cement) was used in a lot of New York City construction including the Brooklyn Bridge, Federal Hall and base of the Statue of Liberty. The Hudson Company Cement Works was erected on the site of a former brick manufacturing plant known as the Shultz Company. By WWII, the Schultz Company had gone out of business along with many other local brickyards. Replacing the former Shultz plant, the cement factory was prosperous for a time but closed down in the early 1980s.

Hudson River Cement Works Silos

Interior of Concrete Silos

Silo Valve

Looking Up in Center of Silo

Cement Works Building

Current Status
The approximately 300 feet tall silos and shells of a couple of buildings are all that remains of the Hudson Cement Company plant. The site is now a popular place for graffiti artists and ATV enthusiasts. The walls of the hollowed out structures provide a canvas for street artists while the gravel and dirt paths provide the perfect surface for quads and dirt bikes. How long the site will remain in its current state is anyone’s guess. There have been plans for a 2,200-unit residential waterfront development for many years but to date, those plans have not come to fruition. The only meaningful construction related to redevelopment plans that I have noticed is the renovation of the Hutton Company Brick Works buildings nearby.

Silos from Building

Cement Works Building

Exploration
Exploring the site was pretty straightforward. We had a nice early morning hike on the trails through the woods that lead to the site before wandering around the buildings and silos. Unlike other places I’ve been the people we ran into here were not explorers but locals on quads and workers coming down from the bluff that overlooks the site. The locals weren’t interested in us and we were on our way out when the workers drove down, so we didn’t have a meaningful interaction with either party. The biggest risk exploring here seems to be deer ticks. So, should you look this place up and pay it a visit, don’t forget to do a tick check afterward.

For more of my photos of the cement works see my Hudson Cement Company Flickr Album.

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Sources:

1. Gilson, Roger Hannigan “Kingston’s Cement Graveyard” The Other Hudson Valley 17 May, 2014
2. Yasinsac, Rob “Hudson Cement Company & Shultz Brick Yard” Hudson Valley Ruins 2006
3. “Hudson Cement Factory” barre.me 16 August, 2010