If you’re in the area and need a place to stretch your legs and minds, you’ll be happy you stopped at Great Falls National Historic Park and the Paterson Museum. I’d say the Great Falls National Historic Park and Paterson Museum will be a key part of that. My impression of Paterson is that it is a city that has gone through some rough times, but is trying to revitalize itself. It opens us up to new experiences – ones that definitely enrich our lives. It connects us to the past and helps us imagine the future. It creates connections between people and cultures. That, my friends, is the beauty of travel. At the end of it, he told us he was an artist and a few years ago had been chosen as the artist from New Jersey to design a Christmas ornament that would hang on a tree in the White House. It was a really neat, unexpected, unscripted experience. Following his lead with a vertical line, then a squiggly line and so on, he guided us through the process of drawing the Great Falls. Then he went on to explain in a very encouraging way that drawing is just lines and anyone has the ability to draw. He proceeded to give all four of us a piece of paper and a pencil and asked us to imagine the Great Falls we had just toured. My son isn’t into drawing, but my daughter LOVES to draw. The volunteer at the front desk (and it literally is an old desk) asked my kids if they like to draw. We were ready to leave the museum and I was digging in my purse for some cash to make a donation. Here’s the neatest part of our experience. One of his submarines was found at the bottom of the Passaic River and is on display in the museum.
Irish-American inventor John Philip Holland experimented with submarine production in Paterson. The Wright Brothers also had an airplane manufacturing facility in Paterson. In 1835 Samuel Colt began manufacturing rifles in Paterson before later moving operations to Connecticut. We learned Paterson has the nickname of Silk City because of the amount of silk production that used to happened there. I actually think the museum is a hidden gem! It wasn’t flashy and polished like a national museum, but it was well done and packed with information and artifacts. This museum is located in the former building of the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works. Admission is free, but a $2.00 donation is suggested. The museum has been open since 1925 and is run by the City of Paterson. I’ll be curious to see what the visitor experience is like after they’ve finished construction on the rest of the park.Īfter seeing the falls, we walked a block in the opposite direction of the Visitor Center to the Paterson Museum. There is the falls, the visitor center and some green space – not much more. Right now, Great Falls National Historic Park feels more like a normal urban park as opposed to some of the big national parks located around the country. By volume, Great Falls is the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi, second only to Niagara Falls. The falls isn’t the biggest we’ve ever seen, but it was impressive. My kids loved walking over the bridge to the falls viewing area. It’s about a 2-minute walk from the Visitor Center to the falls. You’re in the middle of a big city and the park rangers in the Visitor Center will help give you the lay of the land. I recommend stopping in the Visitor Center first because this isn’t your average park-like setting.
#Paterson waterfall hours free
Parking is free at the Great Falls National Historic Park Visitor Center and there is no admission fee for this park. At the time of our visit in July 2018, parts of the park were under construction, but access to the falls was still fine. Great Falls is now a national historic park. The Passaic River runs through Paterson and the energy from the 77-foot high Great Falls helped power many factories. Paterson has a pretty important feature for an industrial city – particularly one back in the 1800s – water. Paterson is considered America’s first planned industrial city and the idea for it came from Alexander Hamilton.
If you are on the East Coast and want to see the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, then I recommend a stop in an unlikely spot – Paterson, New Jersey. I love finding FREE things to do while out and about on our adventures.
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