Jacob Weidmann House

In the Eastside Park neighborhood of Paterson, New Jersey  is an Italian Renaissance style residence built in 1929 for Jacob Weidmann who was one of the central figures in the development of the silk dyeing industry in Paterson. 

Born in Switzerland in 1845 and then trained by his father before apprenticing in the silk dyeing works of  Germany and France, Jacob Weidmann  became an American success story.  

Source: The history of the silk dyeing industry in the United States Edited by Albert H. Heusser

At 22, he came to the United States. He secured a job at Cheny Brothers, which was a silk dyers located in Manchester, Connecticut, before relocating to Paterson in 1872 and opening his own mill called the Weidmann Silk Dyeing Company . His success grew  due to his reputation for producing the heavy-weighted black silks. 

Source: Silk City , Philip B Scranton

In 1887, the Weidmann Silk Dyeing Company relocated its works from downtown Paterson to the city's Riverside section after purchasing a fire devastated  works from former partner, Claude Greppo.

Source: Silk City , Philip B Scranton

By the mid-1900s, Weidmann was the largest silk dyeing works in the country employing approximately 3,000 workers. By the time 1909 rolled around,  Jacob Weidmann sold a large portion of his company to Gillet et fils of Lyons, France. He died two years later​. 

​Laura Gonzalez