Rosendale cement is a type of cement that is made from limestone found in Rosendale, a small town in New York. Cement is a material used in construction to glue things together, kind of like how glue sticks two pieces of paper together.
To make Rosendale cement, people in the olden days would dig up limestone from mines in Rosendale. They would then crush the limestone into tiny pieces, kind of like how you crush crackers into crumbs. Then, they would put the crushed limestone into a big oven and heat it up really hot until it formed a powder called "clinker."
This clinker would then be ground up and mixed with water to make a paste. The paste would be poured into a mold and left to dry for a few days. When it was dry, it would be hard and could be used in construction.
Rosendale cement was really popular back in the olden days because it was cheap and easy to make. It was used to build a lot of different things, like buildings, roads, and bridges. People still use Rosendale cement today because it is really strong and can last a long time.