Falls Without Flaws

Situated unexpectedly within one of New Jersey’s most urban and industrial settings, the Great Falls of the Passaic River or Paterson’s Great Falls or, more colloquially, the Paterson Falls are an historic and unique landmark to visit and appreciate.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark District, the Falls are 77 feet high, one of the largest in the nation and the second-largest east of the Mississippi.

Like the Delaware Water Gap, the Falls were the site of Dutch settlements in the 17th Century, in addition to those of the Leni Lenape Indians.

The engineering of canals from the Falls to power water mills in the town of Paterson was conceived and overseen by founding father and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Later a wooden dam was installed in the employment of a paper mill. Today it boasts a hydroelectric plant generating electricity from the Fall’s flowing waters. As a testament to such aesthetic and technical marvels, over a hundred-thousand tourists visit the Great Falls of Paterson every year.

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Christopher Robinson