Patton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the southeastern part of Union Township in northern

Bollinger County Bollinger County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 10,567. The county seat is Marble Hill. The county was officially organized in 1851. Bollinger Co ...

in Southeast

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. It is located on State Highway 51, approximately one mile south of the intersection with Route 72 (referred to as Patton Junction) along Little Whitewater Creek and 15 miles north of Marble Hill. The ZIP Code for Patton is 63662. Patton is part of the Cape Girardeau– Jackson, MO- IL

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

Name

In the early pioneer days, Patton had a dancing place at which the people danced long after the fiddlers were exhausted by patting hands. The expression "keep a pattin'" was used so often that the place was named Patton.

History

A post office was established in 1874 and named for the Patton family, of whom J.J. and Harvey Patton were prominent family members.

Education

The Meadow Heights R-II School District, located on Route 72 just outside Patton, encompasses most of northern Bollinger County. According to th
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
there was a total of 593 students and 55 certified staff members enrolled in the district during the 2008–2009 school year. The school colors are

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and its mascot is the

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

. Athletics at the school consists of boys' and girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, girls'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, boys'

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, girls'

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and cross country. During the 2005–2006 season, the boys' basketball team set a national record for the number of three-pointers (36) in a single high school basketball game.prepnation.com http://www.prepnation.com/poll/poll.cfm?poll=2&year=2005&week=12

Miscellaneous

*A graduate of Patton High School in the late 1930s who lived in the area claimed that there were still members of the Frank and

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' (a ...

James Gang residing in Bollinger County during his childhood. *

Edward Capehart O'Kelley Edward Capehart O'Kelley (October 1, 1857 – January 13, 1904) was an American killer who killed Robert Ford, who had killed the famous outlaw Jesse James to receive a bounty. He was the subject of a 1994 book by his (O'Kelley's) great-great-ni ...

was reportedly born in Patton in 1858 and raised there. O'Kelley shot and killed Robert Ford, the man who fatally shot

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

. A memorial to O'Kelley for this act stands in the Patton United Methodist Church cemetery, on Country Road 878.

Notes

Unincorporated communities in Bollinger County, Missouri Cape Girardeau–Jackson metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Missouri {{BollingerCountyMO-geo-stub