Editing Patterson, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Patterson, New York
| official_name = Town of Patterson
| native_name = 
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| settlement_type = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
| image_skyline = Patterson Town Hall 800.jpg
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| image_caption = Town Hall
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| image_seal = Patterson, NY Seal.gif
| seal_size = 
| etymology = after local farmer Mathew Paterson
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| image_map = Putnam County New York incorporated and unincorporated areas Patterson highlighted.svg
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| map_caption = Location of Patterson, New York
| image_map1 = New York in United States (US48).svg
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| subdivision_type = Country
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| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| subdivision_type2 = 
| subdivision_name2 = [[Hudson Valley]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam]]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 1795
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| leader_title = [[Town supervisor|Supervisor]]
| leader_name = Richard Williams
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| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_36.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 85.22
| area_total_sq_mi = 32.90
| area_land_km2 = 83.42
| area_land_sq_mi = 32.21
| area_water_km2 = 1.80
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.70
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| elevation_max_ft = 1234
| elevation_max_point = Cranberry Mountain
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| elevation_min_m = 
| elevation_min_ft = 430
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| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
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| population_total = 11541
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| population_density_sq_mi =  369.75
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| timezone1 = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
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| postal_code_type = [[ZIP Code]]
| postal_code = 12563
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| area_code = [[Area code 845|845]]
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| blank_info = 36-079-56748
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| blank_info_sec2 = 36-56748
| blank1_name_sec2 = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info_sec2 = 0979345
| blank2_name_sec2 = Wikimedia Commons
| blank2_info_sec2 = Patterson, New York
| website = {{URL|www.pattersonny.org/|Town of Patterson, NY}}
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Patterson''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[United States]]. The town is in the northeastern part of the county and [[Interstate 84 (east)|Interstate 84]] passes through it's 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.<ref>[http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhIntroduction.php Historic Patterson, NY]; accessed February 15, 2011.</ref>

==History==
The town was first settled around 1720 in [[The Oblong]], which was a disputed area in southeastern [[Province of New York]] also claimed by the [[Connecticut Colony]]. The Oblong was a strip of land approximately 1.81 miles wide (2.91&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhMiscellaneous.php|title=Patterson Through the Years|work=historicpatterson.org|access-date=October 6, 2015}}</ref> 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]] 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, New York|Southeast]]; the remainder of the region was chartered as the Town of Fredericktown in [[Dutchess County, New York]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/History/A-Brief-History-of-Dutchess-County.htm | title=A Brief History of Dutchess County }}</ref> In 1795, Fredericktown township was split into four parts: 1. the Town of [[Carmel, New York|Carmel]], 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 [[Kent, New York|Frederick]] for a while. It was renamed as the Town of Kent in 1817.<ref name="disc15">{{cite web|title=Putnam County history|year=2007|publisher=Rootsweb|access-date=January 15, 2008|url=http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyputnam/putnam1841.html}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Henry Ludington]] - local resident, father of Sybil
*[[Sybil Ludington]] – local Revolutionary War Hero
*[[Elizabeth Montgomery]] – Actress spent her childhood summers in Patterson and resided there for many summer seasons until her death in 1995.
*[[Pete Seeger]] – musician<ref name="Seeger">{{cite web|url=http://www.peteseeger.net/biograph.htm|title=Pete SeegerAppreciation Page|last=Taskin|first=Richard|access-date=May 6, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501161517/http://www.peteseeger.net/biograph.htm|archive-date=May 1, 2009}}</ref>
*[[Martha-Bryan Allen]] – Broadway actress, aunt of actress [[Elizabeth Montgomery]];<ref>Obituary, Cushman, Martha Bryan Allen, The New York Times; July 30, 1985; pg. A30</ref> the actress owned a summer estate in Patterson, which was sold to the State of New York after her death<ref>{{cite web|url=https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Patterson12563/conversations/messages/1036|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140806002001/https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Patterson12563/conversations/messages/1036|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 6, 2014|title=Yahoo! Groups|work=yahoo.com|access-date=October 6, 2015}}</ref> and became part of [[Wonder Lake State Park]].<ref>[[Wonder Lake State Park]]</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|32.9|sqmi|km2}}, of which, {{convert|32.3|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|0.6|sqmi|km2}}  (1.95%) is water.

The northern town line is the border of [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], and the eastern town boundary is the border of [[Connecticut]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 1578
|1830= 1536
|1840= 1349
|1850= 1371
|1860= 1501
|1870= 1418
|1880= 1579
|1890= 1402
|1900= 1644
|1910= 1536
|1920= 1231
|1930= 1196
|1940= 1328
|1950= 2075
|1960= 2853
|1970= 4124
|1980= 7247
|1990= 8679
|2000= 11306
|2010= 12023
|2020= 11541
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref= 
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
[[Image:Patterson Church 800.jpg|thumb|left|Patterson Presbyterian Church]] As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 11,306 people, 3,529 households, and 2,678 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|350.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 3,746 housing units at an average density of {{convert|116.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 91.28% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.56% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.16% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.27% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 1.95% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.76% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|married couples]] 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.

[[Image:Patterson Library 800.jpg|thumb|left|Patterson Library]]
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]] for the town was $26,103.  About 3.7% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Transportation==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
[[File:Patterson Metro-North; Platform and Station Shelter.jpg|thumb|left|Patterson railroad station]]
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. [[Interstate 84 in New York|I-84]] passes in the southwest and houses Exit 61 for [[New York State Route 311|Route 311]]. [[Metro-North Railroad]] has rail commuter rail service to [[New York City]] via the [[Harlem Line]], with the [[Patterson (Metro-North station)|Patterson]] train station in the town center.

==Government==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
Patterson is governed by a [[town board]]. The [[town hall]] is located on [[New York State Route 311]] in Patterson. Law enforcement services for Patterson are provided by the [[New York State Police]] and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

==Communities and locations in Patterson==
[[Image:Downtown Patterson, NY.jpg|thumb|Looking east along [[New York State Route 311|NY 311]] through Downtown]]
* Barnum Corners – A [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|hamlet]] 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, New York|Putnam Lake]] – A hamlet west of the [[lake]] 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]] and [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] 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]] using the legal entity the [[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania]]; the facility draws thousands of domestic and international visitors each year to its free guided tours and by-invitation educational programs.
* [[Wonder Lake State Park]] – An 1100+ acre state park on the western side of the town, off Interstate 84.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.pattersonny.org Town of Patterson, NY]
* [http://www.historicpatterson.org Historic Patterson: History of Patterson, NY]
* [https://archive.today/20130201081116/http://history.rays-place.com/ny/put-paterson-ny.htm History of Patterson, NY]
* [http://www.pattersonlibrary.org/ Patterson Library]

{{Putnam County, New York}}
{{New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Putnam County, New York]]
[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1795]]
[[Category:1795 establishments in New York (state)]]