Paterson's Great Falls History

Distant view of Passaic Falls. by New York Public Library, on Flickr

It was founding father Alexander Hamilton - the current subject of a hip-hop Broadway musical bearing his name - who first imagined how the Great Falls could power industrial development. Hamilton visited the falls in 1778, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, and shared his vision with George Washington and General Lafayette.

After the war, as U.S. treasury secretary, Hamilton selected Paterson to become the nation's first planned industrial city. The water-powered mills produced silk, locomotives and guns, including the first Colt .45 pistols.

Paterson enjoys a distinguished history as one of this nation's earliest industrial centers. It owes its existence to the far reaching vision of one of America's most important founders, and a shaper of our modern governmental and financial institutions, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton envisioned Paterson, with its water power provided by the Great Falls of the Passaic River, as America's counterpart and response to the industrial revolution occurring in England during the same period.

The history of the City of Paterson includes its beginnings as the ambitious project of Hamilton and the Society for Establishing Useful Manufacturers (S.U.M.) in 1792 at the Great Falls, the early development of water power systems for industrial use, and the various types of manufacturing that occurred in the District's mills into the 20th Century. These included cotton fabrics, railroad locomotives, textile machinery, jute, and silk spinning, weaving, and dyeing, among many others.

The Great Falls also represents compelling stories of the lives of immigrants who labored in the mills, those who owned and operated manufacturing concerns and became wealthy, and the quest of laborers and the labor movement for better working conditions and pay. Immigrants still settle today in Paterson to pursue their versions of Hamilton's vision, creating a diverse and vibrant culture.


Samuel Colt was an early Paterson business owner? From 1836 until 1842, his gun mill produced about 5,000 guns. A lack of government contracts was a major factor in his failure in Paterson. He later achieved success in his hometown of Hartford, Conn., with the outbreak of the Mexican-American War.

Waterfalls and ancient geology, engineering landmarks and the economic birth of a new nation - these are just a few of the things you will discover on your visit to the City of Paterson and the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

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Interesting slideshow of vintage Paterson postcards and audio about preserving the city's heritage from The New York Times.

Fishers Return to New Jersey

Fisher - via wikipedia commons

Since the days of logging operations and unregulated trapping in New Jersey back in the early 1900s, you haven't heard or seen much of the fisher in our state. This species was once widely taken for its fur and was eliminated (extirpated) statewide.

But it seems to be making a comeback. Recently, two trappings of fishers by state officials in North Jersey, seems to indicate a return of fishers to the state.

Fishers are long, slender animals usually measuring between 20 and 25 inches with dark brown or black fur with white-tipped hair over most of their bodies.They prefer to live in forested areas, making dens in hollow trees and preying on small animals, including mice, squirrels, shrew and even porcupines.

Fishers are good swimmers and may be found by lakes, timbered swamps and bogs. They can have a home range of 1-3, but up to 15 square miles.

Sometimes confused with the wolverine (which does not exist in NJ), fishers are found only in North America. Also referred to as the fisher cat and Appalachian black cat, this animal may look like a cat or fox, but has a tough wolverine-like disposition.

Its name is a misnomer in that it is neither a feline nor does it catch fish. The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a member of the Mustelidae family, which includes otters, badgers, martens, ferrets, minks, and wolverines.

According to conservewildlifenj.org, this carnivore will eat anything it can catch — typically small- to medium-sized mammals and birds, carrion and some nuts and fruits also make up a portion of its diet. They can take down weak or injured deer, especially in times of heavy snow pack.

One distinction is that it is the  only predator of porcupines in the country. Those ominous prickly porcupine quills are effective against most predators except the fisher. It pursues a porcupine up a tree until it can go no further and falls. The fall stuns the porcupine, allowing the fisher to access the unprotected underside.


The fishers found in New Jersey probably came from some that were reintroduced in Northern Pennsylvania in the 1990s or from the Catskill Region of New York State, where they were introduced in the late 1970s to early 1980s,

There have only been three previous live discoveries of fishers in New Jersey in the last decade.

This year, one was captured in January in Mansfield Township and another fisher was caught and released in February in Washington Township, according to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Being that fishers have no natural enemies and few disease occurrences, without trapping by humans, vehicle collisions are the most likely reason for their death.

A fisher in West Virginia via Wikipedia Commons

Golden Eagle Rescued and Released

Chris Soucy Executive Director at The Raptor Trust and Don Bonica owner of Toms River Avian Care release a rescued golden eagle which was fitted with a solar powered transmitter from a ridge at the Montclair Hawk Watch. Montclair, NJ 3/25/16 (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

One of the good stories to report. A golden eagle found in a snare trap by a hunter in South Jersey has been rehabilitated by the staff and volunteers from Toms River Avian Care and the Raptor Trust in Millington and is back in the sky. Golden eagles are a rare visitor to New Jersey.

Now fitted with a GPS transmitter (a first for this bird species in NJ), biologists can track the bird. Using the ridges from the release point at the Montclair Hawk Watch and following the Hudson River, it was likely the bird would head towards Canada.

The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle.

These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey (mainly hares, rabbits, marmots and other ground squirrels).


Photo by Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18249270

Pequest Open House This Weekend

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will hold its annual Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center Open House this weekend on April 2 and 3, from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission and parking are free.

The Open House has become a rite of spring for many freshwater anglers and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, offering outdoor activities that are both fun and educational.  The event is held annually prior to the opening day of trout season, which falls on April 9 this year.

The event will feature archery and BB gun ranges, conservation exhibits and a giant mobile fishing tank loaded with monster trout and warm-water game fish from the Hackettstown and Pequest fish hatcheries. Children 4-16 will also be able to try their hand at fishing in the Kiddie Trout Tank and Fishing Education Pond, and a Sportsmen’s Flea Market will offer deals on fishing and hunting equipment, and other outdoor gear.

For more information about the event, including the full schedule of activities, visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/peqoh.htm