 In 1849, under the influence of the Hudson River School of painters, the hamlet was renamed as "Rhinecliff".The name was taken from the original name of the Jones-Schermerhorn estate, now known as "Wyndcliffe".Anna L. and Levi P. Morton, who owned the nearby Ellerslie estate, constructed and endowed the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff in memory of their daughter Lena.