Beyond the PPAC play: How RI's Moses Brown outplayed Hamilton

Colonial Industrialist, Moses Brown

If you see “Hamilton” at the Providence Performing Arts Center, starting Nov. 30, you’ll learn about one of the most impressive leaders in American history. Among his other accomplishments, Alexander Hamilton saw better than anyone the need for industrial development. But in actually creating a factory, he got outplayed by some diligent Rhode Islanders.

In 1791, Hamilton and his associates incorporated the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (SEUM). Thanks to connections with New York investors, they quickly garnered the capital to develop a waterpower site on the Passaic River in New Jersey.

They called the future town Paterson, in honor of the sitting governor, who returned the favor by granting the company both a state charter for exclusive access to the falls and a 10-year tax exemption. They hired English immigrants with knowledge of textile factories, set up a cotton spinning mill, and laid plans for a major complex churning out a variety of products. Everything was in place.