Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
The Raceways: Turning Water Into Industry
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
The most important industrial feature of Paterson was not the waterfall itself.
It was the system built around it.
Engineers created channels, known as raceways, to control and distribute water power from the falls to factories.
The landscape was redesigned so that natural energy could drive machines.
This is why Paterson matters. It shows the moment when Americans began adapting landscapes for industrial production on a large scale.