Patterson, Missouri, was named for Virginian William Patterson, who in 1835 purchased the Joseph Parish Spanish grant section of land on which the town stands. It is believed to be the oldest community in Wayne County. Its first post office was established as Springville in 1848. It was the site of Union Fort Benton, built in 1861, and of the Battle of Patterson in 1863. It was also the birthplace of Samuel Aaron Baker, born in 1874 and died in 1933, a prominent educator and Governor of Missouri from 1925 to 1929.