Paterson: Great Falls and Industrial Heritage

Paterson can be explored through several specific themes: Great Falls, the historic Raceway system, the mills, and the Paterson Museum. Together, they trace the story from the waterfall’s volume of water to the use of the river’s drop and the city’s industrial history.

Great Falls and the Power of Water

By volume of water, Great Falls is the second-largest waterfall east of the Mississippi. This description specifies both the measure and the area of comparison: the relevant measure is volume of water, and the comparison is limited to the region east of the Mississippi. This ranking is therefore not a worldwide ranking and does not refer to the waterfall’s height. The Great Falls Hydropower Project is located partly within Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. This geographic relationship is part of the picture of a place where the waterfall and energy history both play a role.

The Raceway System and the History of the Mills

The historic Raceway system next to the Great Falls Hydropower Project was built to harness the 77-foot drop of the Passaic River and supply power to Paterson’s industrial factories. The figure of 77 feet describes a drop, not a distance. The key connection is the use of this drop to supply power to the factories. This helps place the Raceway system in Paterson’s industrial history, not only in terms of its location but also its purpose.

A walk through Upper Raceway Park follows the beginning of the Raceway system and passes some of the many mills that benefited from it. The walk thus links one section of the system with mills whose operations it helped support. The Great Falls National Historic Landmark District still includes many mills; they symbolize the city’s contributions to America’s development and growth. These two perspectives complement each other: the walk follows the beginning of the Raceway system, while the historic district places the mills in the broader context of Paterson’s contribution to American development.

The Paterson Museum and Group Tours

The Paterson Museum is located in the Thomas Rogers Building at 2 Market Street in Paterson. The museum offers tours for student and community groups by appointment. If you are planning a tour as part of one of these groups, be sure to include making an appointment in your plans. The museum complements the themes of water, the Raceway system, and the mills with its own perspective on Paterson’s history; the tour option mentioned here is specifically for student and community groups.

Highlights for Your Stay

These themes suit different interests: Great Falls has a clearly defined ranking by volume of water, the Raceway system explains how the river’s drop was used for industry, and the walk follows the beginning of the system and passes mills. The historic district places the mills in a broader context, while the museum offers another historical focus. If you’re looking for hotels in Paterson, you can use these differences to decide which aspect of the city you’d like to focus on during your stay.

Discover more destinations: Wayne, Clifton, Totowa, Ringwood, West Milford, Wanaque, Little Falls Township, Woodland Park

For the broader travel overview: Passaic.