Joppenbergh Mountain
Encyclopedia
Joppenbergh Mountain is a nearly 500 feet (152.4 m) mountain in Rosendale Village
, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale
, in Ulster County
, New York
. The mountain is composed of a carbonate
bedrock
overlain by glacially
deposited material. It was named after Rosendale's founder, Jacob Rutsen, and mined
throughout the late 19th century for dolostone
that was used in the manufacture of natural cement. Extensive mining caused a large cave-in on December 19, 1899, that destroyed equipment and collapsed shafts
within Joppenbergh. Though it was feared that several workers had been killed, the collapse happened while all the miners were outside, eating lunch. 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 original slope was designed by Harold Schelderup for Rosendale's first competition in 1937; Schelderup himself skied that July, after the slope was coated with borax
for a summer competition. Several Olympic
skiers participated in the competitions. Skiing began again in the 1960s, when a new slope was built on the mountain, and the revived competitions continued until 1971.
The town of Rosendale considered buying land near the mountain in 2003 for parking, and the following year, the town leased a tract of land to build a municipal parking lot. Joppenbergh was put up for sale in 2009, and in March 2011, the Open Space Institute
offered to purchase the entire 117 acres (47.3 ha) property and sell it to the town. The Rosendale town board initially agreed to the deal the following month, with payment planned to come from a surplus fund. That June, however, the board found that the surplus fund had already been exhausted and could not cover the entire cost of the purchase. , the mountain's sale remains pending.
Jacob Rutsen, born Jacobsen Rutger van Schoonderwoerdt. Rutsen was a merchant, and the son of a Dutch immigrant
, from Albany
; he founded the first settlement in what is now the town of Rosendale, New York
, in the late 17th century. The spelling of the mountain's name has been disputed, and has been rendered as Joppenberg and Joppenburgh. It has also been called Jacob's Nose, Jacob's Mount, and, in an early 18th-century deed, Jobsenbright.
.
The bedrock underlying the mountain is composed of limestone
and dolostone
members of the Helderberg Group, laid during the Paleozoic
era. Most of the Helderberg carbonate
s in Rosendale are located north of the Rondout Creek
, and have given Rosendale a karst topography
, resulting in "sink holes, disappearing streams, caves, and springs". The mountain's surface is composed of unconsolidated, glacially
deposited outwash
and till
, with several outcrop
s exposing Joppenbergh's bedrock. In some areas, the soil depth is less than 20 inches (50.8 cm), which hinders groundwater
filtration. Other parts of the mountain have a steep, 30 percent grade. These areas, comprising nearly 75 percent of the 117 acres (47.3 ha) property, cannot be easily developed.
found large amounts of dolostone rocks in the region, which enabled the production of natural cement. The rocks contained dolomite
of the Upper Silurian
's Rondout formation. Joppenbergh was rich in the mineral, and was mined
. Several quarries operated on the mountain, including the New York and Rosendale Cement Company, and the James Cement Company. No one company had complete control of the entire mountain.
By late December 1899, mining had compromised Joppenbergh's integrity enough to cause a series of landslides, followed by a large cave-in
on December 19. Four collapses occurred that day, beginning at 8 AM, and culminating in the 11:30 AM collapse of the Black Smoke Mine shaft network. Though it was initially believed that fifteen workers had been killed, the collapse happened while all 150 men were outside of the mountain, eating lunch.
The collapse rendered the canal and nearby road impassable, and caused a boiler explosion that shook the nearby Rosendale trestle
. At the time of the collapse, the total cost of the damage was estimated to be between $20,000 and $25,000. Another, larger collapse happened the following week, late at night. This cave-in was believed to have been caused by the December 19 collapse. Shortly after the landslides, "swarms of gawking spectators" crowded the village to photograph the debris; one such photograph was alleged to depict the Madonna
. Frequent rockfall
s as a result of mining led to calls to destroy the mountain in 1907.
-based telemark skiing
club to build its new 40 metres (131.2 ft) ski jumping
slope in Rosendale. The group leased Joppenbergh from owner Warren Sammons.
Rosendale's first ski jumping competition was held on January 24, 1937. The ski track was designed by Harold Schelderup, a ski hill designer from Norway
. Bad weather caused the cancellation of competitive events, but a skiing exhibition still occurred. That April, the Telemark club held a special dinner in Brooklyn to honor members who performed well in the January competition. The club planned to hold a summer competition by covering the mountain with "straw and pine needles". Harold Schelderup, who was recognized at the dinner for his skills, performed in the summer tournament. Joppenbergh's ski track was coated with borax
, and the tournament was held on July 18, 1937 at 2:30 in the afternoon, with enough parking provided for 500 cars. In front of a crowd of 3,300 people, "jumpers took off from an in-run covered with borax and landed on a hill covered with mats and carpets topped with straw and borax".
Olympic skier
Ottar Satre
set a record jump of 112 feet (34.1 m) in 1937. The following year a 25 feet (7.6 m) extension was placed atop the mountain to increase jumpers' distance. Although Satre's 112 feet (34.1 m) record was expected to be beaten by more than 30 feet (9.1 m), the winner of the January 23, 1938 compeition was Norwegian skier Nils Eie, who jumped only 128 feet (39 m). Harold Schelderup also participated in the competition, which was held the week after he won a separate tournament in White Plains
. Another Joppenbergh tournament was planned for March 7, 1938. Competitions were held in 1940 and 1941. The length of the slope was increased to 50 metres (164 ft) in 1941, but the United States' entrance into World War II
caused skiers to enter the military, and competitions were not held after the war.
Skiing resumed on Joppenbergh in the 1960s. The Rosendale Nordic Ski Club was organized on January 11, 1964, and immediately created the Joppenbergh Mountain Corporation (JMC) to manage the Joppenbergh property. Three hundred shares of stock were issued for the JMC, priced at $100 per share, to build a new slopeand to buy the mountain itself for $20,000 from its owner, Mary Sammons. The JMC gained control of the property on August 20, 1964, and immediately announced its intent to build a new ski slope on the site of the original one, as well as a parking lot capable of holding 10,000 cars. The goal of the club was to make Rosendale the "Nordic Ski Capital of the East". A new 70 metres (229.7 ft) slope was completed on November 14, 1965, and a ski jumping competition was held in January 1966. Skier Liet Bringslimark achieved a 152 feet (46.3 m) jump from the new slope. This record was broken by Per Coucheron, a 22-year-old Dartmouth
student who reached 206 feet (62.8 m) in a tournament on January 27, 1968.
The Rosendale Outing Ski Club organized a competition on January 25 and 26, 1969, attended by a crowd of 3,000 people. Olympic medalist Franz Keller
jumped 212 feet (64.6 m) down a 65 metres (213.3 ft) slope on Joppenbergh, though he managed to reach 214 feet (65.2 m) during practice. It had rained the week before the competition, and although 20 truckloads of snow were brought in, the condition of the track was "extremely fast". Several participants fell, and one was brought to a hospital in Kingston
.
In 1970 the Rosendale Outing Ski Club became part of the Rosendale Nordic Ski Club. The club organized Rosendale's final skiing competition, which took place on February 6 and 7, 1971. Keller's 212 feet (64.6 m) record was broken twice on February 6, by Middlebury College
student Hugh Barber. The 185 pounds (83.9 kg) Barber reached heights of 213 feet (64.9 m) and 217 feet (66.1 m) during the competition, and 226 feet (68.9 m) during practice, in front of 3,500 spectators. Although Barber believed the ski hill was in "great condition", 10 to 15 percent of participants had fallen during the tournament. Consistently unfavorable weather conditions and a lack of profitability were the major reasons skiing stopped on Joppenbergh; the poor design of the slope, as well as infighting among ski club members, also contributed. The slope was subsequently abandoned, and an adjacent facility, for the ski jumps, fell into disuse. The JMC continued to own and maintain the property after skiing ceased.
was moved 50 feet (15.2 m) away from Joppenbergh and closer to Rondout Creek
to protect motorists. A retaining wall
was put up at the foot of the mountain to prevent falling rocks from rolling onto the street. During the 1980s, Vidacable TV Systems leased part of the mountain from the JMC to set up an antenna
. Cellular One
considered building a 180 feet (54.9 m) cell tower
on top of Joppenbergh in 1992, but decided not to do so. Although there was public opposition to the proposal, Cellular One stated that local sentiment was not a factor in its decision against building the tower. In 1995 the mountain was studied by the New York Public Service Commission
to determine a possible route for new transmission line
s laid by a local energy utility
.
The body of a 25-year-old substitute teacher from Kingston, Amy Glauner, was found on Joppenbergh after an October 1998 search. Police determined that she died of head trauma
following a fall. Her car had been found in a parking lot
by the mountain.
In 2003, the town of Rosendale considered either leasing a tract of land near Joppenbergh, or purchasing a 1+1/2 acre lot, to expand parking on Main Street. The lot belonged to former village mayor Joseph Reid, who refused to sell it to the town. Although the town board considered using eminent domain
to acquire Reid's property, it agreed in June 2004 to lease the Joppenbergh property instead, for a period of 10 years, at a rate of $3,500 each year. One member of the town board opposed the deal because it would not secure the land beyond the 10-year term. The lease allowed the town to create a park by the municipal lot, Willow Kiln Park, which contains several defunct cement kiln
s. Willow Kiln Park has served as the setting of an art show and, following a zombie
-themed street festival, a concert.
Though the JMC had been unwilling to sell its land in 2004, by December 2009 the entire mountain was put up for sale, for $500,000. Before 2009, the assessed value of the property was only about $50,000. In early March 2011, the Open Space Institute
(OSI) offered to purchase the 117 acres (47.3 ha) propertywhich had, by that time, been reassessed at $240,000for $185,000, and sell it to the town for $85,000. The deal would create an easement
with the town, allowing only noncommercial use of the mountain while preserving the municipal parking lot at its base. While some government officials viewed such an acquisition as a permanent solution to the hamlet's parking problems, other officials viewed the loss of tax revenue from the privately owned property to be undesirable.
More than 175 people showed up for a rancorous public hearing over the purchase on April 6, 2011. During the hearing, members of the Rosendale town board determined that the tax income from the entire property was much less than the cost of renting part of it for parking. Residents brought up several issues, such as the liability the town would assume from falling rocks, and sinkhole
s. Other issues discussed were the lack of road access to the parking lot, and whether the property should be used commercially. An individual living adjacent to the property, Brett Hansen, expressed a strong desire to buy it and build additional parking lots, as well as an amphitheater
. Proponents of the purchase described how ownership of Joppenbergh would allow Rosendale to connect the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
with Main Street, and how property values near the mountain would increase. The town board agreed to the purchase in a 3–2 vote on April 13.
Although a 17-page petition with 298 signatures in favor of a public referendum
was presented at the meeting, the board felt that OSI funds would not be available by the proposed November referendum. Opponents of the board's decision protested it by placing signs near the mountain deriding the purchase as an unwise expenditure. The town was not legally obligated to hold a referendum, regardless of public sentiment, because the money budgeted for the purchase was not borrowed; board members planned to tap a $340,000 surplus fund, generated by the 2010 sale of town land to the OSI, which intended to allow bouldering
on the property. The $340,000 fund was originally intended for capital improvements, specifically the construction of a new town hall, but a June 2011 audit of the town's 2010 budget found that a large part of the surplus had already been used to offset budget and tax shortfalls; only $79,000 remained available.
Several local businesses considered contributing money to the mountain's purchase. Such funding would be considered surplus, and would not be subject to referendum. Owners of businesses on Main Street expressed concern at the June 1 town board meeting that the cost of parking would increase if the property was purchased by a third party. One board member estimated that without paying rent, the town would recoup the cost of the property within 12 years. Ulster County Area Transit
expressed a desire to route its buses through the property, creating a connection to the Mohonk Preserve
. A nonprofit organization, the Joppenbergh Mountain Preservation Association (JMPA), was created in June 2011 to raise funding to purchase the mountain, the parking lot, and Willow Kiln Park.
In an effort to reduce the purchase price, the town board asked the mountain's current owners to discount the final four years of rent on the parking lot, a cost of $32,000. The town considered buying only the parking lot and Willow Kiln Park, but the JMC's lawyer indicated that the 117 acres (47.3 ha) property would not be divided. The mountain's sale is still pending, and the town board is still considering whether to hold a referendum on the matter. Regardless of whether or not the town decides to accept the deal, the OSI intends to purchase Joppenbergh.
Rosendale Village, New York
Rosendale Village is a hamlet and census-designated place within the town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York, United States, with a population of roughly 1,500 people...
, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, in Ulster County
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The mountain is composed of a carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
overlain by glacially
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
deposited material. It was named after Rosendale's founder, Jacob Rutsen, and mined
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
throughout the late 19th century for dolostone
Dolostone
Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite. In old U.S.G.S. publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone. Most dolostone formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is...
that was used in the manufacture of natural cement. Extensive mining caused a large cave-in on December 19, 1899, that destroyed equipment and collapsed shafts
Shaft mining
Shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom....
within Joppenbergh. Though it was feared that several workers had been killed, the collapse happened while all the miners were outside, eating lunch. Since the collapse, the mountain has experienced shaking and periodic rockfalls.
During the late 1930s, Joppenbergh became the site of several ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
competitions, which continued until the early 1940s. The original slope was designed by Harold Schelderup for Rosendale's first competition in 1937; Schelderup himself skied that July, after the slope was coated with borax
Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
for a summer competition. Several Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
skiers participated in the competitions. Skiing began again in the 1960s, when a new slope was built on the mountain, and the revived competitions continued until 1971.
The town of Rosendale considered buying land near the mountain in 2003 for parking, and the following year, the town leased a tract of land to build a municipal parking lot. Joppenbergh was put up for sale in 2009, and in March 2011, the Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute is a conservation organization and think tank with an extensive mission statement. It seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment...
offered to purchase the entire 117 acres (47.3 ha) property and sell it to the town. The Rosendale town board initially agreed to the deal the following month, with payment planned to come from a surplus fund. That June, however, the board found that the surplus fund had already been exhausted and could not cover the entire cost of the purchase. , the mountain's sale remains pending.
Name
Joppenbergh is named after ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Jacob Rutsen, born Jacobsen Rutger van Schoonderwoerdt. Rutsen was a merchant, and the son of a Dutch immigrant
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, from Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
; he founded the first settlement in what is now the town of Rosendale, New York
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, in the late 17th century. The spelling of the mountain's name has been disputed, and has been rendered as Joppenberg and Joppenburgh. It has also been called Jacob's Nose, Jacob's Mount, and, in an early 18th-century deed, Jobsenbright.
Geology
Sources differ on whether Joppenbergh is 485 feet (147.8 m) or 495 feet (150.9 m). Both measurements give Joppenbergh a lower elevation than the highest point in the town of Rosendale, a 600 feet (182.9 m) peak of the Shawangunk RidgeShawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
.
The bedrock underlying the mountain is composed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and dolostone
Dolostone
Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite. In old U.S.G.S. publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone. Most dolostone formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is...
members of the Helderberg Group, laid during the Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
era. Most of the Helderberg carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
s in Rosendale are located north of the Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
, and have given Rosendale a karst topography
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
, resulting in "sink holes, disappearing streams, caves, and springs". The mountain's surface is composed of unconsolidated, glacially
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
deposited outwash
Sandur
A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...
and till
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
, with several outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s exposing Joppenbergh's bedrock. In some areas, the soil depth is less than 20 inches (50.8 cm), which hinders groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
filtration. Other parts of the mountain have a steep, 30 percent grade. These areas, comprising nearly 75 percent of the 117 acres (47.3 ha) property, cannot be easily developed.
Mining collapses
In 1825, engineers working on the Delaware and Hudson CanalDelaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which later developed the Delaware and Hudson Railway...
found large amounts of dolostone rocks in the region, which enabled the production of natural cement. The rocks contained dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
of the Upper Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
's Rondout formation. Joppenbergh was rich in the mineral, and was mined
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. Several quarries operated on the mountain, including the New York and Rosendale Cement Company, and the James Cement Company. No one company had complete control of the entire mountain.
By late December 1899, mining had compromised Joppenbergh's integrity enough to cause a series of landslides, followed by a large cave-in
Cave-in
A cave-in is a collapse of a geologic formation, mine or structure which typically occurs during mining or tunneling. Geologic structures prone to cave-ins include alvar, tsingy and other limestone formations, but can also include lava tubes and a variety of other subsurface rock formations.In...
on December 19. Four collapses occurred that day, beginning at 8 AM, and culminating in the 11:30 AM collapse of the Black Smoke Mine shaft network. Though it was initially believed that fifteen workers had been killed, the collapse happened while all 150 men were outside of the mountain, eating lunch.
The collapse rendered the canal and nearby road impassable, and caused a boiler explosion that shook the nearby Rosendale trestle
Rosendale trestle
The Rosendale trestle is a continuous truss bridge and former railroad trestle in Rosendale Village, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York. Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its rail line from New Paltz to Kingston, the bridge rises above...
. At the time of the collapse, the total cost of the damage was estimated to be between $20,000 and $25,000. Another, larger collapse happened the following week, late at night. This cave-in was believed to have been caused by the December 19 collapse. Shortly after the landslides, "swarms of gawking spectators" crowded the village to photograph the debris; one such photograph was alleged to depict the Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
. Frequent rockfall
Rockfall
Rockfall or rock-fall refers to quantities of rock falling freely from a cliff face. A rockfall is a fragment of rock detached by sliding, toppling, or falling, that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling...
s as a result of mining led to calls to destroy the mountain in 1907.
Skiing competitions
Throughout the 1930s the tourist industry in Rosendale flourished, generating almost $700,000 each year between spring and autumn. The Rosendale Township Association, founded in 1934 to encourage tourism in the town, sought out new activities to attract tourists to Rosendale during the winter. In 1936 the association asked a BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-based telemark skiing
Telemark skiing
Telemark skiing is a form of skiing using the Telemark turn. Unlike alpine skiing equipment, the skis used for telemarking either have a binding that only connects the boot to the ski at the toes, just as in cross-country skiing, or may be released to only connect there.Telemark turns are led with...
club to build its new 40 metres (131.2 ft) ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
slope in Rosendale. The group leased Joppenbergh from owner Warren Sammons.
Rosendale's first ski jumping competition was held on January 24, 1937. The ski track was designed by Harold Schelderup, a ski hill designer from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Bad weather caused the cancellation of competitive events, but a skiing exhibition still occurred. That April, the Telemark club held a special dinner in Brooklyn to honor members who performed well in the January competition. The club planned to hold a summer competition by covering the mountain with "straw and pine needles". Harold Schelderup, who was recognized at the dinner for his skills, performed in the summer tournament. Joppenbergh's ski track was coated with borax
Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
, and the tournament was held on July 18, 1937 at 2:30 in the afternoon, with enough parking provided for 500 cars. In front of a crowd of 3,300 people, "jumpers took off from an in-run covered with borax and landed on a hill covered with mats and carpets topped with straw and borax".
Olympic skier
Nordic combined at the 1936 Winter Olympics
At the 1936 Winter Olympics, one individual Nordic combined event was contested. It was held on Wednesday, February 12, 1936 and on Thursday, February 13, 1936 .-Medalists:-Cross-country skiing:...
Ottar Satre
Paul Ottar Satre
Paul Ottar Satre was an American ski jumper and cross-country skier who was born in Trysil, Norway and emigrated to the United States. He competed in Nordic combined at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He was a brother of Karl Magnus Satre.-References:...
set a record jump of 112 feet (34.1 m) in 1937. The following year a 25 feet (7.6 m) extension was placed atop the mountain to increase jumpers' distance. Although Satre's 112 feet (34.1 m) record was expected to be beaten by more than 30 feet (9.1 m), the winner of the January 23, 1938 compeition was Norwegian skier Nils Eie, who jumped only 128 feet (39 m). Harold Schelderup also participated in the competition, which was held the week after he won a separate tournament in White Plains
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
. Another Joppenbergh tournament was planned for March 7, 1938. Competitions were held in 1940 and 1941. The length of the slope was increased to 50 metres (164 ft) in 1941, but the United States' entrance into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
caused skiers to enter the military, and competitions were not held after the war.
Skiing resumed on Joppenbergh in the 1960s. The Rosendale Nordic Ski Club was organized on January 11, 1964, and immediately created the Joppenbergh Mountain Corporation (JMC) to manage the Joppenbergh property. Three hundred shares of stock were issued for the JMC, priced at $100 per share, to build a new slopeand to buy the mountain itself for $20,000 from its owner, Mary Sammons. The JMC gained control of the property on August 20, 1964, and immediately announced its intent to build a new ski slope on the site of the original one, as well as a parking lot capable of holding 10,000 cars. The goal of the club was to make Rosendale the "Nordic Ski Capital of the East". A new 70 metres (229.7 ft) slope was completed on November 14, 1965, and a ski jumping competition was held in January 1966. Skier Liet Bringslimark achieved a 152 feet (46.3 m) jump from the new slope. This record was broken by Per Coucheron, a 22-year-old Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
student who reached 206 feet (62.8 m) in a tournament on January 27, 1968.
The Rosendale Outing Ski Club organized a competition on January 25 and 26, 1969, attended by a crowd of 3,000 people. Olympic medalist Franz Keller
Franz Keller
Franz Keller was a West German nordic combined skier. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, he won the gold medal in the individual event...
jumped 212 feet (64.6 m) down a 65 metres (213.3 ft) slope on Joppenbergh, though he managed to reach 214 feet (65.2 m) during practice. It had rained the week before the competition, and although 20 truckloads of snow were brought in, the condition of the track was "extremely fast". Several participants fell, and one was brought to a hospital in Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
.
In 1970 the Rosendale Outing Ski Club became part of the Rosendale Nordic Ski Club. The club organized Rosendale's final skiing competition, which took place on February 6 and 7, 1971. Keller's 212 feet (64.6 m) record was broken twice on February 6, by Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
student Hugh Barber. The 185 pounds (83.9 kg) Barber reached heights of 213 feet (64.9 m) and 217 feet (66.1 m) during the competition, and 226 feet (68.9 m) during practice, in front of 3,500 spectators. Although Barber believed the ski hill was in "great condition", 10 to 15 percent of participants had fallen during the tournament. Consistently unfavorable weather conditions and a lack of profitability were the major reasons skiing stopped on Joppenbergh; the poor design of the slope, as well as infighting among ski club members, also contributed. The slope was subsequently abandoned, and an adjacent facility, for the ski jumps, fell into disuse. The JMC continued to own and maintain the property after skiing ceased.
Modern use
Periodic rockfalls continue to happen, with debris sliding down the mountain face. In 1984, State Route 213New York State Route 213
New York State Route 213 is a state highway located entirely in Ulster County. It runs from the eastern Catskills to downtown Kingston....
was moved 50 feet (15.2 m) away from Joppenbergh and closer to Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
to protect motorists. A retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
was put up at the foot of the mountain to prevent falling rocks from rolling onto the street. During the 1980s, Vidacable TV Systems leased part of the mountain from the JMC to set up an antenna
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
. Cellular One
Cellular One
Cellular One is the trademarked brand name used by several cellular service providers in the United States and Bermuda. The brand was sold to Trilogy Partners by AT&T in 2008 shortly after AT&T had completed its acquisition of Dobson Communications...
considered building a 180 feet (54.9 m) cell tower
Cell site
A cell site is a term used to describe a site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed, usually on a radio mast, tower or other high place, to create a cell in a cellular network...
on top of Joppenbergh in 1992, but decided not to do so. Although there was public opposition to the proposal, Cellular One stated that local sentiment was not a factor in its decision against building the tower. In 1995 the mountain was studied by the New York Public Service Commission
New York Public Service Commission
The New York Public Service Commission is a government agency that regulates the various utilities of the state of New York. The commission also oversees the cable industry.The commission consists of up to five members, led by a commissioner...
to determine a possible route for new transmission line
Transmission line
In communications and electronic engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable designed to carry alternating current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high enough that its wave nature must be taken into account...
s laid by a local energy utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
.
The body of a 25-year-old substitute teacher from Kingston, Amy Glauner, was found on Joppenbergh after an October 1998 search. Police determined that she died of head trauma
Head injury
Head injury refers to trauma of the head. This may or may not include injury to the brain. However, the terms traumatic brain injury and head injury are often used interchangeably in medical literature....
following a fall. Her car had been found in a parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
by the mountain.
In 2003, the town of Rosendale considered either leasing a tract of land near Joppenbergh, or purchasing a 1+1/2 acre lot, to expand parking on Main Street. The lot belonged to former village mayor Joseph Reid, who refused to sell it to the town. Although the town board considered using eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
to acquire Reid's property, it agreed in June 2004 to lease the Joppenbergh property instead, for a period of 10 years, at a rate of $3,500 each year. One member of the town board opposed the deal because it would not secure the land beyond the 10-year term. The lease allowed the town to create a park by the municipal lot, Willow Kiln Park, which contains several defunct cement kiln
Cement kiln
Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates...
s. Willow Kiln Park has served as the setting of an art show and, following a zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
-themed street festival, a concert.
Though the JMC had been unwilling to sell its land in 2004, by December 2009 the entire mountain was put up for sale, for $500,000. Before 2009, the assessed value of the property was only about $50,000. In early March 2011, the Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute is a conservation organization and think tank with an extensive mission statement. It seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment...
(OSI) offered to purchase the 117 acres (47.3 ha) propertywhich had, by that time, been reassessed at $240,000for $185,000, and sell it to the town for $85,000. The deal would create an easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
with the town, allowing only noncommercial use of the mountain while preserving the municipal parking lot at its base. While some government officials viewed such an acquisition as a permanent solution to the hamlet's parking problems, other officials viewed the loss of tax revenue from the privately owned property to be undesirable.
More than 175 people showed up for a rancorous public hearing over the purchase on April 6, 2011. During the hearing, members of the Rosendale town board determined that the tax income from the entire property was much less than the cost of renting part of it for parking. Residents brought up several issues, such as the liability the town would assume from falling rocks, and sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s. Other issues discussed were the lack of road access to the parking lot, and whether the property should be used commercially. An individual living adjacent to the property, Brett Hansen, expressed a strong desire to buy it and build additional parking lots, as well as an amphitheater
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
. Proponents of the purchase described how ownership of Joppenbergh would allow Rosendale to connect the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a rail trail and linear park that runs along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor in Ulster County, New York. , it stretches from Gardiner through New Paltz, crossing the Wallkill River as it reaches Rosendale...
with Main Street, and how property values near the mountain would increase. The town board agreed to the purchase in a 3–2 vote on April 13.
Although a 17-page petition with 298 signatures in favor of a public referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was presented at the meeting, the board felt that OSI funds would not be available by the proposed November referendum. Opponents of the board's decision protested it by placing signs near the mountain deriding the purchase as an unwise expenditure. The town was not legally obligated to hold a referendum, regardless of public sentiment, because the money budgeted for the purchase was not borrowed; board members planned to tap a $340,000 surplus fund, generated by the 2010 sale of town land to the OSI, which intended to allow bouldering
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
on the property. The $340,000 fund was originally intended for capital improvements, specifically the construction of a new town hall, but a June 2011 audit of the town's 2010 budget found that a large part of the surplus had already been used to offset budget and tax shortfalls; only $79,000 remained available.
Several local businesses considered contributing money to the mountain's purchase. Such funding would be considered surplus, and would not be subject to referendum. Owners of businesses on Main Street expressed concern at the June 1 town board meeting that the cost of parking would increase if the property was purchased by a third party. One board member estimated that without paying rent, the town would recoup the cost of the property within 12 years. Ulster County Area Transit
Ulster County Area Transit
Ulster County Area Transit is the county-owned operator of bus transportation in Ulster County, New York, providing fixed-route, deviated-fixed route, and commuter transit, except within the city of Kingston, where the local Kingston Citibus provides public transit.-Service area:UCAT provides...
expressed a desire to route its buses through the property, creating a connection to the Mohonk Preserve
Mohonk Preserve
The Mohonk Preserve is located in the Shawangunk Ridge, a section of the Appalachian Mountains, north of New York City in Ulster County, New York, USA. The Preserve is west of the Village of New Paltz...
. A nonprofit organization, the Joppenbergh Mountain Preservation Association (JMPA), was created in June 2011 to raise funding to purchase the mountain, the parking lot, and Willow Kiln Park.
In an effort to reduce the purchase price, the town board asked the mountain's current owners to discount the final four years of rent on the parking lot, a cost of $32,000. The town considered buying only the parking lot and Willow Kiln Park, but the JMC's lawyer indicated that the 117 acres (47.3 ha) property would not be divided. The mountain's sale is still pending, and the town board is still considering whether to hold a referendum on the matter. Regardless of whether or not the town decides to accept the deal, the OSI intends to purchase Joppenbergh.