{"id":3823,"date":"2026-09-17T10:52:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/?page_id=3823"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:52:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:52:58","slug":"history-of-the-john-ryle-house","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/index.php\/history-of-the-john-ryle-house\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the John Ryle House"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The John Ryle House<\/strong>, located today at 9 Mill Street in Paterson, New Jersey<\/strong>, is one of the city’s important surviving reminders of the early development of Paterson’s silk industry. Built in the early 1830s, the house is associated with John Ryle<\/strong>, the English-born industrialist who became one of the central figures in transforming Paterson into America’s leading silk-manufacturing center. The house forms part of the historic Daniel Thompson and John Ryle Houses<\/strong>, which were listed together on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 1981.<\/p>\n

Early History<\/h3>\n

The Ryle House was constructed about 1830<\/strong>, during the formative years of Paterson’s industrial development. It is a 2\u00bd-story Federal-style frame dwelling<\/strong>, originally constructed as a residential building in the vicinity of the city’s developing mills along the Passaic River. Its front elevation was later covered with a brick veneer, probably by the late nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

The house originally stood farther north on Mill Street, at what was then 11 Mill Street<\/strong>. It was located in a neighborhood that during the middle decades of the nineteenth century was home to many of Paterson’s manufacturers, merchants, and other prosperous residents. The National Register documentation describes the neighborhood as an upper-middle-class enclave<\/strong>, with nearby Boudinot Street\u2014today Van Houten Street\u2014known in the nineteenth century as “Quality Row.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Ryle Comes to Paterson<\/h3>\n

John Ryle was born in 1817 in Bollington, Cheshire, England<\/strong>, near Macclesfield, a major center of Britain’s silk industry. He came to the United States with considerable knowledge of silk manufacturing and became involved in Paterson’s developing textile industry.<\/p>\n

The beginnings of Paterson’s silk industry can be traced to the late 1830s. In 1839<\/strong>, Christopher Colt experimented with silk manufacturing in the former gun-manufacturing complex below the Great Falls. George W. Murray subsequently acquired the operation, with Ryle serving as superintendent. By the early 1840s, Ryle was playing an increasingly important role in the enterprise.<\/p>\n

Ryle and Murray became partners, and Ryle eventually took control of the operation. He expanded silk manufacturing in the area around the old Colt Gun Mill<\/strong> and developed additional mill buildings. His enterprises helped establish the industrial foundation upon which Paterson’s later reputation as the “Silk City”<\/strong> was built.<\/p>\n

Ryle’s Years in the House<\/h3>\n

John Ryle occupied the Mill Street house from approximately 1849 until 1859<\/strong>. During this decade, he was becoming one of Paterson’s most prominent industrialists. The 1859 Paterson city directory lists Ryle as a silk manufacturer<\/strong>, with his business interests associated with the Gun Mill and Murray Mill.<\/p>\n

The house therefore dates from an especially important period in Paterson history. From this residence, Ryle was closely connected with the rapidly expanding silk industry that was transforming the city’s economy and physical landscape.<\/p>\n

Ryle’s industrial career included the development and rebuilding of silk mills and the organization of the firm that became John Ryle & Sons<\/strong>. His enterprises ultimately became associated with the Pioneer Silk Company<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The “Father of the Silk Industry”<\/h3>\n

Ryle became widely associated with the rise of silk manufacturing in Paterson. Historical accounts credit him with helping establish silk manufacturing on a substantial commercial basis in the city. His influence extended beyond his own factories: workers trained in Ryle’s operations went on to establish or manage other silk businesses.<\/p>\n

The Passaic County Historical Society describes Ryle’s operation at the old Gun Mill as an important training ground for workers who later became significant figures in Paterson’s silk industry.<\/p>\n

Ryle was also involved in promoting the American silk industry nationally. One notable achievement associated with him was the production of silk goods for the 1852 New York Crystal Palace exhibition<\/strong>, where Paterson’s silk industry received national attention.<\/p>\n

A Changing Neighborhood<\/h3>\n

The character of Mill Street changed considerably during the second half of the nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

When Ryle lived there, the neighborhood was associated with prosperous industrialists and businesspeople. As Paterson’s industrial economy expanded, however, the area increasingly became a working-class neighborhood. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many immigrant families lived in the vicinity of the mills.<\/p>\n

The history of the Ryle House reflects that transition. After Ryle’s ownership, the property passed through several owners. In 1913<\/strong>, Giovanni and Jennie Iannascoli acquired the property. In 1921<\/strong>, it was purchased by Michele Napoletano<\/strong>, a musician. It was subsequently owned by Sofia DiMarcantonio<\/strong>, whose husband operated a tailoring business on the third floor. The DiMarcantonio heirs retained the property until 1970.<\/p>\n

Architectural Features<\/h3>\n

The John Ryle House is approximately 20 feet wide by 52 feet deep<\/strong>. Its design is characteristic of the modest Federal-period houses constructed in early nineteenth-century Paterson.<\/p>\n

Among its notable features are:<\/p>\n