Patterson is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Putnam County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The town is in the northeastern part of the county and Interstate 84 passes through its southwestern section. The population was 11,541 at the 2020 census. The town is named after early farmer Matthew Paterson. It was spelled with two "t"s because of the looseness with which Paterson spelled his own last name.

History

The town was first settled around 1720 in The Oblong, which was a disputed area in southeastern

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

also claimed by the

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

. The Oblong was a strip of land approximately 1.81 miles wide (2.91 km) between Dutchess County, New York, and Connecticut, ceded to New York in the 1731 Treaty of Dover. Between 1720 and 1776 a large number of mostly Connecticut families settled in the southern Oblong. They could not settle west of it because that land was privately owned by the Philipse family. It had been granted a patent for virtually all of the remainder of the area of the future Putnam County. The first such settlers in the Oblong were the Hayt family, who built a house at The Elm in 1720. Another early settler was Jacob Haviland, who settled Haviland Hollow in 1731. The first village in Putnam County, the hamlet of Patterson, was originally called Frederickstown. The eastern part of the future Putnam County was called Southeast Precinct (not the same as the current town of Southeast). The Philipses were

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

during the Revolution and left the area. The state confiscated their land, selling it off. In 1788, the former Philipse portion of the Oblong was chartered as the Town of

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

; the remainder of the region was chartered as the Town of Fredericktown in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

. In 1795, Fredericktown township was split into four parts: 1. the Town of

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

, 2. a part which was combined with the northern half of Southeast and became the Town of Franklin, which was renamed the Town of Patterson in 1808, 3. a part which was combined with the southern half of Southeast and became the new, much larger town of Southeast, and 4. the remnant of the town, which was the Town of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

for a while. It was renamed as the Town of Kent in 1817.

Notable people

* Henry Ludington - local resident, father of Sybil *

Sybil Ludington Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an American woman who allegedly made a ride during the American Revolutionary War, though modern accounts dispute this. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, Ludington, the daughter ...

– local Revolutionary War Hero *

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She portrayed the good witch List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Step ...

– Actress spent her childhood summers in Patterson and resided there for many summer seasons until her death in 1995. *

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

– musician * Martha-Bryan Allen – Broadway actress, aunt of actress

; the actress owned a summer estate in Patterson, which was sold to the State of New York after her death and became part of

Wonder Lake State Park Wonder Lake State Park is a Putnam County state park located in Patterson, New York. History Wonder Lake was constructed in the 1930s as part of a series of improvements to the property by A. L. Cushman, who owned a chain of bakeries in ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which, is land and (1.95%) is water. The northern town line is the border of

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

, and the eastern town boundary is the border of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 11,306 people, 3,529 households, and 2,678 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,746 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.28%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.56%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.16% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.95% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.01% of the population. There were 3,529 households, out of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.29. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $66,250, and the median income for a family was $75,746. Males had a median income of $50,161 versus $37,975 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $26,103. About 3.7% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Two main thoroughfares run through Patterson, NY State Route 22 & State Route 311. State Route 22 runs through every town on the East side of Putnam County, and runs directly through the Business District of Patterson.

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation ...

passes in the southwest and houses Exit 61 for Route 311.

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

has rail commuter rail service to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

via the

Harlem Line The Harlem Line is an commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southea ...

, with the Patterson train station in the town center.

Government

Patterson is governed by a

town board A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counci ...

. The

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

is located on New York State Route 311 in Patterson. Law enforcement services for Patterson are provided by the

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members. The New York State Police are re ...

and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

Communities and locations in Patterson

* Barnum Corners – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

west of Putnam Lake. * Camp Brady – A location in the western part of the town. * Cascade Farm and Farm School Inc. – A small Community Supported Agricultural farm on Harmony Road off Rte. 292 in Patterson. * Fields Corners – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town. * Haines Corners – A hamlet southwest of Haviland Hollow. * Haviland Hollow – A hamlet northwest of Putnam Lake. * Patterson – A hamlet in the northern section of the town. * Putnam Lake – A hamlet west of the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

named Putnam Lake, which is in the eastern part of the town, by the Connecticut border. * Steinbeck Corners – A hamlet in the southern part of the town. * Thunder Ridge – A ski area located north of Putnam Lake. * West Patterson – A hamlet west of Patterson hamlet. * Haviland Hollow Farm – A

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

facility, built on historic Colonial River Farm located on East Branch Road in Patterson. * Watchtower Educational Center, ( Watchtower Bible School of Gilead) a religious school, office, and residence complex operated by

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

using the legal entity the

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer, and disseminate ...

; the facility draws thousands of domestic and international visitors each year to its free guided tours and by-invitation educational programs. *

– An 1100+ acre state park on the western side of the town, off Interstate 84.

References

External links

Town of Patterson, NY

Historic Patterson: History of Patterson, NY

Patterson Library
{{authority control Towns in Putnam County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1795 1795 establishments in New York (state)