Originally known as Keator's Corners, this area became known as Binnewater at the turn of the century with the discovery of Binnewater Limestone and the manufacture of Rosendale Cement mined alongside the Binnewater Lakes. This strong natural hydraulic cement was used in the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Treasury Building, and its durability made it part of the engineering specifications for many public works projects of the period. At its peak at the turn of the century, the Rosendale Cement Works employed 5,000 workers, produced four million barrels of cement a year, and helped sustain the growing local population. The development of Portland cement in 1920 marked the decline of the Rosendale Cement Works, but the rustic Catskill Mountain environment helped foster a modest tourism industry around the Binnewater Lakes that continues today. The building that houses Women's Studio Workshop was built in 1886 as the F.O. Norton Cement Company Store, managed by David Burke, and also served at different times as a post office, a gas station, and Krom's Sporting Goods Store before Women's Studio Workshop acquired it in 1980. It is the key structure in the Binnewater Historic District, which also includes Hoffman's Livery, a former boarding house from the same era, and the Wallkill Valley Railroad Station and its privy. Founded in 1974, Women's Studio Workshop has become a regional visual arts organization, bringing more than 700 artists from across the United States and around the world to Rosendale to create artists books, work in its studios, teach local children, and study new skills in its Summer Art Institute.