On July 10, 1778, Gen. George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette joined Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s most trusted aide, in what would become Paterson, at the spot where the Passaic River plummets 77 feet over basalt cliffs.
They shared a picnic of cold ham, tongue and biscuits. Hamilton was so impressed by the Great Falls that 13 years later, as the first U.S. secretary of the Treasury, he chose the site for his Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (SUM), America’s first planned industrial center.
On Nov. 7, 2011, the National Park Service recognized the area’s natural beauty and historical significance by creating the 52-acre Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, among the newer parks being celebrated in the agency’s centennial year.
“We all know about Philadelphia and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776,” said Darren Boch, superintendent of the park. “But on July 2, 1792, Paterson was where America declared its economic independence, where we set out to become an industrial power no longer dependent on England.” MORE