The History of the Quackenbush Store in Paterson, New Jersey
For more than a century, the name Quackenbush was closely associated with shopping and commerce in downtown Paterson, New Jersey. The Quackenbush & Company department store grew from a small dry-goods business into one of the city’s leading retail establishments and became an important part of Paterson’s commercial history.
Peter Quackenbush and the Beginning of the Store
The story begins with Peter Quackenbush, a Paterson native who came from a long-established New Jersey family with Dutch and French Huguenot ancestry. After receiving his education in Paterson, Quackenbush entered the retail business in 1860 as a clerk in the dry-goods store of John C. Van Dervoort.
In 1878, Quackenbush went into business for himself, opening a dry-goods store at 180 Main Street. His business quickly prospered. In 1882, John B. Mason became a partner, and the firm became known as Quackenbush & Company. In 1901, Quackenbush’s son, William Dixon Quackenbush, joined the partnership.
The store’s success reflected the tremendous growth of Paterson during the late nineteenth century. The city was becoming one of America’s most important industrial centers, particularly because of its silk industry. As Paterson’s population and prosperity increased, so did the demand for a modern downtown shopping district.
From Dry-Goods Store to Department Store
Quackenbush & Company expanded beyond the traditional dry-goods business. By 1896, the company had developed into what was described at the time as a department store, offering customers a wide variety of merchandise under one roof. It became one of the principal retail establishments in Paterson and was considered comparable to prominent stores in larger American cities.
The store eventually occupied a substantial building at approximately 186–196 Main Street, with the principal department-store building associated with 192 Main Street. The site is identified by the City of Paterson as the Quackenbush Department Store and is included within the Downtown Commercial Historic District.
Quackenbush became one of the two major department stores dominating downtown Paterson. Its principal competitor was Meyer Brothers, whose Boston Store opened across Main Street in 1880.
For generations of Paterson residents, downtown Main Street was the place to shop, and Quackenbush was one of its best-known names.
The Great Fire of 1902
Quackenbush & Company faced one of the greatest disasters in Paterson’s history when the Great Paterson Fire of 1902 swept through the downtown area. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, including homes and businesses.
The Quackenbush store was among the businesses affected. Like many other Paterson merchants, the company rebuilt and continued its operations. The ability of the downtown business community to recover from the fire was an important part of Paterson’s subsequent commercial development.
A Store That Sold Almost Everything
During its department-store years, Quackenbush became much more than a dry-goods shop. The store offered the kinds of merchandise that made department stores such an important part of American life, including clothing, furniture, household goods, appliances, toys and other merchandise.
Department stores were not simply places to purchase necessities. They were destinations where families could spend an afternoon shopping, meet friends, see the latest fashions and experience the changing consumer culture of the twentieth century.
Quackenbush played that role in Paterson.
The 1938 Warehouse Fire
One of the darkest chapters in the history of Quackenbush occurred on March 12, 1938.
A major fire broke out in a warehouse adjoining the department store. The four-alarm blaze spread through the warehouse, which contained furniture, bedding and other merchandise. The warehouse was connected to the department store by both an underground passage and a second-floor bridge.
The fire occurred during a busy Saturday afternoon sale, when the Quackenbush store was filled with shoppers.
The warehouse eventually suffered a catastrophic structural collapse. Five Paterson firefighters were killed:
- Deputy Chief James P. Sweeney
- Captain John Davenport
- Fireman Louis Rodesky
- Fireman Matthew R. O’Neill
- Fireman William P. Lynch
The tragedy became the greatest loss of life in the history of the Paterson Fire Department.
The loss deeply affected the entire community. In 1941, a memorial honoring Paterson firefighters who had died in the line of duty was dedicated near Fire Headquarters, with the five men killed in the Quackenbush warehouse collapse among those remembered.
Later Years
Like many traditional downtown department stores, Quackenbush eventually became part of a larger retail organization. During the twentieth century, the business became associated with Hahn Department Stores and subsequently Allied Stores.
The changing retail landscape eventually brought additional changes. As suburban shopping centers grew after World War II, downtown department stores faced increasing competition. The Quackenbush operation in Paterson eventually became associated with Stern’s, the department-store chain that expanded throughout northern New Jersey.
Stern’s ultimately moved much of its retail emphasis toward suburban shopping centers, reflecting the broader transformation of American shopping habits.
The downtown Paterson store eventually closed.
A Lasting Place in Paterson History
Although the Quackenbush store is gone, its name remains an important part of the history of downtown Paterson.
The store represents several important eras in the city’s development: the rise of Paterson as an industrial city, the growth of Main Street as a major commercial district, the emergence of the American department store, the rebuilding following the Great Fire of 1902, and the transformation of retail shopping in the twentieth century.
The Quackenbush building and its surrounding downtown commercial district also provide a physical reminder of the period when Main Street was the heart of Paterson’s shopping life. The City of Paterson continues to recognize the Quackenbush Department Store at 186–196 Main Street as a historic resource.
For older generations of Paterson residents, however, Quackenbush was more than a historic building. It was a familiar part of everyday life—a place where people bought clothing, furniture, household goods and gifts, and where generations of families experienced downtown Paterson.
Quackenbush & Company stands today as an important chapter in the story of Paterson’s Main Street and in the larger history of American department stores.
Sources
- National Register of Historic Places, Downtown Paterson Historic District documentation.
- City of Paterson, Historic Preservation Element of the Master Plan.
- Paterson Fire History, account of the 1938 Quackenbush Warehouse Fire.
- The Quackenbush Family biographical material concerning Peter Quackenbush and Quackenbush & Company.
- Passaic County Historical Society, Lambert Castle historical publications.