Hamilton at the Great Falls

Jan 13, 2016

Thanks to the hit Broadway musical Hamilton Paterson's founding father is becoming a pop culture icon. A recent NPR story about the connection between the musical and Alexander Hamilton's economic legacy began not in New York City but at Paterson's Great Falls. Last year we hosted a brunch with Lin-Manuel Miranda and many other cast members from HAMILTON, along with historian Ron Chernow and playwright John Guare. Before seeing the show Ron and John led our group in a lively conversation about Lin's creation of the musical inspired by Ron's best-selling biography of Paterson's founder. In October we honored Hamilton star Jasmine Cephas Jones and Paterson's own Doug Herzog, president of Viacom's Music and Entertainment Group. Lin-Manuel Miranda with John Guare; Jasmine Cephas Jones

Did You Know?

"The river finding this chasm pours all its water into it headlong from a height, according to guess, of about 80 feet; and all this pouring water must break upon the undermost piece of stone lying in the crevice, which causes a great roaring and foaming, so that persons standing there side by side have to call out loud before they can understand each other. By reason of the breaking of the water, and the wind which the falling water carries with it, there is constantly spray ascending like smoke, which scatters itself like rain."

- Nelson and Shriner, History of Paterson. (The first written account of a journey to the Great Falls dates back to 1680 and describes what the adventurous explorers called "the power and wonder of God":)

Hamilton at the Great Falls

Did You Know?

Our mission is to maximize the public benefits of the new Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park for the City, the State, and the Nation.