{"id":3891,"date":"2026-09-20T19:06:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T23:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/?page_id=3891"},"modified":"2026-09-20T19:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T23:06:52","slug":"dams-gatehouses-wheelhouses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/index.php\/dams-gatehouses-wheelhouses\/","title":{"rendered":"Dams, Gatehouses & Wheelhouses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Paterson’s raceway system could not function simply by digging channels and allowing water to flow through them. The system depended upon a network of dams, gates, gatehouses, wheelhouses, spillways and tailraces<\/strong> that controlled the Passaic River and converted its energy into mechanical power.<\/p>\n

Together, these structures formed the machinery of Paterson’s early industrial power system.<\/p>\n

The Great Falls provided the natural energy. The raceways carried the water. But the dams, gates and wheelhouses controlled and converted that energy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

The Dams<\/h2>\n

The first essential component was the dam<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A dam raised or controlled the level of the Passaic River so that water could be diverted into the raceway system.<\/p>\n

Without a sufficient difference in elevation between the river and the raceway, there would not be enough pressure or flow to operate the mills effectively.<\/p>\n

The S.U.M. therefore developed dams and diversion structures upstream of the Great Falls.<\/p>\n

These structures had several purposes:<\/p>\n