History

The history of the community of Patterson began with the measuring out of the Rancho Del Puerto and the subsequent grant of the land to the brothers Mariano and Pedro Hernandez on January 20, 1844 , by Manuel Micheltoreno, Governor of the Californias . This original Mexican Land Grant was for acreage stretching east of the present Highway 33 to the San Joaquin River . The northern boundary was Del Puerto Creek and the southern boundary was just south of Marshall Road.

Once the Patterson Colony map was filed with the Stanislaus County Recorder's office on December 13, 1910 , sales of ranches and city lots began. Thomas W. Patterson subdivided the land into ranches of various sizes, mostly 5, 10 to 20 acres. For irrigation he had a plan developed which became known around the world as the first successful lift irrigation system. It pumped water from the San Joaquin River into a series of canals which delivered water to the farm land.

Determined to make Patterson different from the towns along the West Side that were also next to the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, he modeled his town after Washington D.C. and Paris , France , by using a series of circles with radiating streets. T.W. Patterson, although practical, had a eye for beauty. Parks were laid out along the railroad. Major avenues and streets were planted with palms, eucalyptus, and sycamore trees. Some seven miles along Sycamore Avenue were lined with trees of the same name and interspersed with oleander bushes featuring a diversity of colors of which there is little left of the original plantings.

Las Palmas Avenue was once lined with eucalyptus trees planted between the palms. Only the palms remain, which are now one of two state historical resources in the Patterson area. The other landmark is the Center Building, so called by Pattersonites. Effort has been going on for years to get the palms on Las Palmas and the Center Building registered as historical landmarks.

The Center Building , located in the circle of town was originally the Patterson Ranch Company Office. It was one of the first buildings in the town. This building, along with the Del Puerto Hotel that in recent years was destroyed by fire, was finished in 1910. Both buildings were built by the Patterson Ranch Company to take care of the business of establishing a new town. The Center Building was used as the office for the sale of land.