Chapter 24

            

 

                In 1792 -- after nearly 700 acres were purchased above and below the Great Falls by various well-established families in the area -- the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures turned its attention to finding labor.

                Alexander Hamilton helped acquire the serves of several pivotal men, some who invented new machines for the production of silk and cotton, some whom had worked elsewhere in the world to establish the fabric industry.

                The society itself, ordered the construction of fifty clay and stone houses, each built upon a quarter acre of land -- to be leased to any "proper mechanic, married and of good character" at a yearly rate of $12.50. Or such a person could purchase the house for payments of $88 a year for twenty-one years. The society also ordered the construction of a saw mill with two saws.

                As soon at the land was purchased for the town, the Society appointed Nehemiah Hubbard, engineer and superintendent, to lay it out. Hubbard was succeeded by L'Enfau, whose ideas seemed extravagant. L'Enfau -- who later laid out of the design for Washington D.C. -- recommended building a canal to the Great Notch in order to convey water, as well as other apparently outlandish schemes. The society soon replaced him with Peter Colt.

                Even though the society sought a more conservative approach to setting up manufacturing in Paterson, some great engineering feats were accomplished. At first, a slender dam was built 200 yards above the falls at LaFontaine's gap near the bend in the river. The ravine became a reservoir out of which water spilled into a new middle race way. The water was transported 150 years to the Society's first factor off Mill Street at the corner of Passaic St.  This area, a swamp at the time, would eventually become the most populated portion of Paterson.

                In 1838, the Society would construct a new dam, using immense blocks of stone bolted to the rocky bed immediately above the falls. This allowed water to run through a channel to three tiers of factories, each using the same water as it fell from one level to the next. The Great Falls of Passaic (or Passaich as it was originally called) had an aggregate horse power of 2646. The society rented factory space at $750 per square foot er year, and purchased more land around the falls upon which the city itself was built.

                On Oct. 2, 1792, however, the society charge several of its officers with fraud. Board member John Denhusrt apparently misappropriated $50,000. He should have used it to purchase materials in England. The society hired a ship t to recover the money from England, but failed. Other members of the board also apparent cost or stole large sums of cash.

                ************

                "What the hell happened to you last night?" Jack asked as Maxwell came out of his morning shower.

                "I waited until midnight for you to come out, figuring I didn't want to interrupt anything if things got hot and heavy for you. I waited, and I waited, and I waited, until I got so cold I just had to come in -- and then I found you weren't in here."

                "We left early," Maxwell said, stumbling to the spindle where he found the still half full Mr. Coffee pot. He poured the brown liquid into the previous day's cup, then sipped it slowly.

                "So I gathered. Why? I thought you had a big night planned."

                "So I did. But we had an uninvited guest."

                "Oh?"

                "Laura Jean."

                Jack coughed up his coffee. "We ought to put a chain on that girl," he said. "I spent an evening down at the Greasy Spoon for nothing."

                "So that's where you went, I wondered."

                "I figured it was safe there."

                "Safe?" Maxwell said. "Are you in trouble with the boss' boys again?"

                "Not exactly," Jack said, diverting his gaze.

                "Then what is it?"

                "I'd rather not talk about it," Jack said. "It's kind of personal."

                "It's always personal with you," Maxwell said. "It would help to know if I'm in danger as well as you."

                "You're not," Jack said. "At least not from anything I've done."

                "What does that mean?"

                "Your priest friend called," Jack said. "He wants you to call him back as soon as you can. It seems your homeless girlfriend has wandered off."

                ***********

                Father Craig did not look angry, merely sober.

                "Good of you to come," the priest said, motioning Maxwell into his cool world of wood and tile, a hint of incense filling the air along with floor wax.

                "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," Maxwell said after the priest has eased closed the huge door and started back down the long hall. "What exactly happened?"

                "Your friend left."

                "Nobody saw her?"

                "We're not baby-sitters or jailors," the pries said. "We have six hundred and forty two people in our care. We give them a place to sleep, something to eat and if they want, work to do. Other than that, they're on their own. Frankly, I thought something like this would happened with your friend. She isn't merely homeless, she's ill, and she needs a hospital where people can look after her properly."

                "I didn't mean to imply your were irresponsible," Maxwell said. "I just wanted to know if anybody saw where she went -- so I can possibly find her."

                "Sadly, no," the priest said. "Or we would have recovered her ourselves. Naturally, we did call the police."

                "The police? They didn't seem particularly interested in her in the past."

                "Normally, they would not have taken much of an interest. But apparently, she absconded with some valuable church property. In fact, we've been missing various odds and ends since she'd come to us."

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