Rondout, New York

Rondout (often mis-pronounced "ROUNDOUT") was a village located on the north side of Rondout Creek near its mouth on the Hudson River in Ulster County and includes the Rondout-West Strand Historic District.

The name of the Rondout Creek comes from the fort, or redoubt, that was erected near its mouth. The Dutch equivalent of the English word redoubt (meaning a fort or stronghold), is reduyt. In the Dutch records of Wildwyck, however, the spelling used to designate this same fort is invariably Ronduyt during the earliest period, with the present form rondout (often capitalized) appearing as early as November 22, 1666.

The Dutch word ronduyt is an adjective meaning "frankly" or "positively." The word could also be broken down into its components and translated, literally, "round-out." Most likely, this corrupting process merely represented the simplification of a word (reduyt). [cite web | title = Derivation of Place Names | url = http://www.hrmm.org/rondout/names.htm]

Incorporated on April 4, 1849, Rondout served as a Hudson River port for the city of Kingston located about a mile distant. In 1828 it became the eastern terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. From that time, it grew rapidly, until in 1872 it was merged with and became a part of the city of Kingston.

Prior to its incorporation, Rondout was known variously as "The Strand", "Kingston Landing" and "Bolton". "The Strand" is a Dutch derived reference to the beach once located on the north shore of the Rondout Creek. Its usage persists to the present (2006). "Kingston Landing" speaks for itself. "Bolton" was used to honor a president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company.

Much of the former village's central area has survived intact and is part of the Rondout-West Strand Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The Rondout borders the Rondout creek. The creek empties into the Hudson through a large, protected tidal area which was the terminus of the Delaware & Hudson canal built to haul coal from Pennsylvania to New York City. [cite web | title = Hudson River Maritime Museum | url = http://www.hrmm.org/rondout/rondout.htm]

Rondout, New York is an artist community mentioned as such by publications including business week online "America's best places for artists." [cite web | title = America's Best Places for Artists | url = http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/02/0226_artists/index_01.htm | accessdate = 2007-10-10 | publisher = BusinessWeek]

Rondout, New York is home to a large number of art galleries including the kingston museum of contemporary arts, Donskoj & Company, Watermark Cargo Gallery, the Arts Society of Kingston and Deep Listening Space.

The City of Kingston holds many festivals in the Rondout neighborhood, including the Kingston Jazz Festival and the Artists Soapbox Derby.

out of the old church. The Sculpture is part of a town sponsored art program which promotes local artists by allowing the installation of their work in public places .

Bridging the Rondout Creek From Roundout NY to Port Ewen NY is the Kingston-Port Ewen Suspension Bridge completed in 1921.

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