Paterson

Paterson is a city in and the county seat of Passaic County, located in the northeastern corner of New Jersey, approximately 11 miles northwest of New York City along the Passaic River. Established in 1791, Paterson is recognized as the first planned industrial community in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, Paterson was the state's third-most-populous municipality, with a population of 159,732. Long known by the nickname "Silk City" for its dominance in silk manufacturing during the latter half of the 19th century, Paterson later became a center of immigration and cultural diversity. It has since evolved into a major destination for Hispanic immigrants as well as for immigrants from Turkey, the Arab world, and South Asia. The city is home to the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, one of the most significant industrial heritage sites in the country.

Founding and Early History

Paterson was originally inhabited by the Acquackanonk tribe of the Lenape, also known as the Delaware Indians. At that time, Paterson was a small part of what was known as Lenapehoking. Later, the Dutch claimed that land, calling it New Netherlands, and then the British gained control of it, claiming it as the Province of New Jersey.

In 1679, the Dutch acquired the tract of land in what was to become Paterson, attracted to the area by the Lenni-Lenape Indians' description of the Great Falls, which they called To-ta-wa. More than a century later, the falls would attract a far more consequential visitor. In 1778, Alexander Hamilton visited the falls and was impressed by its potential for industry. Later, when Hamilton was the nation's Secretary of the Treasury, he selected the site of the nation's first planned industrial city, which he called a "national manufactory."

In 1791, Alexander Hamilton, first United States Secretary of the Treasury, helped found the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.), which helped encourage the harnessing of energy from the Great Falls of the Passaic River to secure economic independence from British manufacturers. The society founded Paterson, which became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America. Paterson was named for William Paterson, statesman, signer of the Constitution, and Governor of New Jersey, who signed the 1792 charter that established the Town of Paterson.

Architect, engineer and city planner Pierre L'Enfant (1754–1825), who had earlier developed the initial plans for Washington, D.C., was the first planner for the S.U.M. project. His plan proposed to harness the power of the Great Falls through a channel in the rock and an aqueduct. The society's directors felt he was taking too long and was over budget, and he was replaced by Peter Colt, who used a less complicated design.

Paterson was originally formed as a township from portions of Acquackanonk Township on April 11, 1831, while the area was still part of Essex County. Paterson became part of the newly-created Passaic County on February 7, 1837. The city was incorporated under its present charter in 1851.

Industrial Growth and the "Silk City" Era

In 1794, S.U.M. built a small cotton mill on Mill Street on the middle raceway. This was Paterson's first factory, the first cotton center in New Jersey, and the second such center in the country. That same year, S.U.M. built a waterpower mill for making cotton cloth with facilities for one of the country's first calico printing shops. Disgruntled calico printers became disorderly and caused the mill to close its doors — the first lockout in American history.

The earliest industries were cotton mills (1794), and in 1828 Paterson mechanics joined mill workers in the first recorded sympathy strike in the United States. Samuel Colt produced his first revolvers at the Old Gun Mill in 1836. By 1837, when the locomotive industry was established, machine manufacturing had become important. Paterson was producing four-fifths of all locomotives made in the United States by the early 1880s. The silk industry was introduced in 1838, which led to it being named "Silk City"; linen thread manufacture began in 1864.

In the latter half of the 1800s, silk production became the dominant industry and formed the basis of Paterson's most prosperous period, earning it the nickname "Silk City." By the 1880s, Paterson was home to more than one-third of all silk factories in the United States.

Situated on a bend in the Passaic River, Paterson's most prominent natural phenomenon — and one of the nation's first tourist attractions — is the seventy-seven-foot Great Falls, which provided the water power that made Paterson "the silk capital of the world" and the birthplace of a number of industrial innovations, including America's first locomotive, the Colt repeating cylinder revolver, the first practical submarine, and the engine of Charles A. Lindbergh's famous airplane, The Spirit of St. Louis.

The city was a mecca for immigrant laborers, who worked in its factories, particularly Italian weavers from the Piedmont and Naples regions. In 1886, Everett Abbott Cooper began a carriage and wagon business in Paterson, then a thriving industrial town on the banks of the Passaic River. As times changed, so did the Cooper family's business, evolving into an automobile, truck, and bus body manufacturer early in the 20th century. In 1927, the Paterson Vehicle Company branched out again, building Silk City Diners. While other diner manufacturers came and went, some lasting just a year or two, the Paterson Vehicle Company continued to manufacture diners until 1964 (or 1966, depending upon the source), ultimately assembling around 1,500 of the gleaming monuments to culinary diversity.

Labor History and Industrial Decline

One of the most famous strikes occurred in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1913, when more than 20,000 silk workers joined in an industry-wide strike that lasted more than five months. The six-month-long Paterson silk strike of 1913 was led by Luigi Galleani and Carlo Tresca and demanded the eight-hour day and better working conditions. It was defeated, with workers returning at the end of the strike without having negotiated any changes. On June 7, the "Paterson Pageant" rally, organized by journalist John Reed, was held in New York City's Madison Square Garden. Although workers returned to their looms defeated in July, the walkout was Paterson's greatest strike and an important struggle in New Jersey and labor history.

Although hard hit by the Great Depression, a 1939 guide to New Jersey could still report that Paterson was the largest single silk-producing center in the country. By this time, the whole silk industry was in decline. The reasons given in the report were antiquated mills, the replacement of large mills with small family-operated shops, and the introduction of artificial silk (rayon).

During World War II, Paterson played an important part in the aircraft engine industry. Paterson's fortunes continued on an uneven course through the twentieth century. The Great Depression, as did the manufacturing slump that followed World War II, hit the city hard. Beginning in the late 1960s, the city suffered high unemployment rates and white flight.

The Great Falls and Historic Preservation

The Great Falls of the Passaic River stand at the heart of Paterson's identity and its ongoing historic preservation efforts. The industries developed in Paterson were powered by the 77-foot high Great Falls of the Passaic and a system of water raceways that harnessed the power of the falls.

The Great Falls of Paterson became a National Natural Landmark in 1967, and part of the City of Paterson was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1976. In 1977, the Great Falls Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, acknowledging its historical and architectural significance. On March 30, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which included the designation of Paterson Great Falls as a National Historical Park. When it was established in 2011, the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park became what is known in the National Park Service (NPS) as a "partnership park," which means the NPS is not the only manager of the park's resources.

Two of the first successful submarines, the Holland I and the Holland II (or Fenian Ram), which were built by John P. Holland and sunk in the Passaic in 1878 and 1881 respectively, were later recovered; they are now on exhibit at the Paterson Museum. The Paterson Museum, located in the former Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, showcases the city's industrial history. Lambert Castle (1891) in the Garret Mountain Reservation houses the Passaic County Historical Society Museum.

From 1932 to 1933, Paterson constructed Hinchliffe Stadium, an Art Deco concrete stadium. Originally called City Stadium, it was renamed in honor of Mayor John V. Hinchliffe and his uncle John Hinchliffe. The New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League played at the stadium from 1933 to 1937 and from 1939 to 1945. The stadium is one of the very few surviving stadiums in the country that hosted Negro league baseball during the Jim Crow years. It is currently a National Historic Landmark and is being restored.

The Danforth Memorial Library, now the main branch of the Paterson Free Public Library, offers an additional architectural landmark. Built in 1905 at 250 Broadway, it was designed by architect Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics and Modern Paterson

In 2023, Paterson had a population of approximately 158,000 people with a median age of 33.3 and a median household income of $53,766. As of 2023, 44.1% of Paterson residents were born outside of the country. The five largest ethnic groups in Paterson are Other Hispanic (34.6%), Black or African American non-Hispanic (23.3%), Two Races Including Other Hispanic (18.5%), White non-Hispanic (7.82%), and White Hispanic (7.65%).

Today's Hispanic immigrants to Paterson are primarily Dominican, Peruvian, Colombian, Mexican, and Central American, with a resurgence of Puerto Rican migration as well. Western Market Street, sometimes called "Little Lima" by tourists, is home to many Peruvian and other Latin-American businesses.

Paterson has produced a number of notable cultural figures. Lou Costello, of the famous comedy duo Abbott and Costello, was born in Paterson. Allen Ginsberg, a leading figure of the Beat Generation, grew up in Paterson. William Carlos Williams wrote a five-volume poem (1946–58) titled Paterson, focusing on the city and on the Passaic River. The city also has deep ties to the world of sports: boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter gained a reputation in Paterson for his opposition to the treatment of African Americans in his neighborhood; in 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide at a local bar, despite what many regarded as shaky evidence against him.

The Paterson Literary Review has been published annually by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, edited by Maria Mazziotti Gillan, since 1979. It is most well known for its submitted poetry — having published works by notable poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Philip Levine, William Stafford, and Sonia Sanchez. Since 2018, Paterson has hosted an annual Paterson Poetry Festival, which includes poetry performances from rising and established artists, workshops, panels, open mics, and contests like a slam face-off.

In 2024, there appears to be a renaissance coming to Paterson. Every visit reveals some project where the city looks to be fighting back. The city has begun initiatives in hopes of reviving the downtown area, with the centerpiece being the Center City Mall, constructed on a large parking lot spanning Ward Street from Main to Church Streets and featuring retail, entertainment, and commercial space.

See Also

• Passaic County, New Jersey
• Great Falls of the Passaic River
• Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
• Paterson silk strike of 1913
• Lambert Castle
• Hinchliffe Stadium