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Alexander Hamilton died 216 years ago today from a gunshot wound received during the infamous duel with Aaron Burr. Hamilton, one of the USA’s founding fathers, also helped to establish Paterson, New Jersey. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton believed America would prosper by developing industry rather than agriculture.

To this end, he found S.U.M., the Society of Useful Manufactures, laying out a plan for Paterson to harness the power of the Great Falls. S.U.M. purchased 700 acres around the falls and named the new city after New Jersey’s governor, William Paterson, who supported Hamilton’s vision. The City of Paterson became the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.