Paterson, city in northeastern New Jersey, seat of Passaic County, on the falls of the Passaic River. One of the state's largest cities, Paterson is a manufacturing and commercial center. Principal products include silk and rayon textiles, machinery, machine tools, chemicals, and plastics. Paterson is the site of a community college. Historical attractions include the Passaic County Historical Society Museum, housed in Lambert Castle (1892), and the Paterson Museum, which contains natural history, textile, and science collections. It also holds the hull of the first successful submarine, designed in the city in 1878. Paterson's historic industrial district includes former spinning mills, locomotive factories, and a gun factory, since adapted for other uses. The area immediately surrounding the falls is a National Historic Landmark.
In about 1680 Dutch colonists settled in the Paterson area. The community remained largely agricultural until 1791, when the area was chosen as the site for an industrial center by the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (SUM). Supported by the American statesman Alexander Hamilton, SUM was organized to foster industrial development in the new nation. The settlement, named for William Paterson, a governor of New Jersey, was incorporated as a town in 1831. In 1836 Samuel Colt began producing the first workable revolver in Paterson, and soon after the first steam locomotive was built there. Paterson subsequently became a major center for manufacturing textiles, locomotives, and machinery; it incorporated as a city in 1851.
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Paterson Information info
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