Career
In 1860, a decade before the railroad began operating, Patterson purchased "a Demarest farm and 56 acres of land" in the area where it would pass through present-day Hillsdale. An 1876 map of the hamlet (then a part the Township of Washington) lists Patterson as the owner of most plots in its center, though ultimately the development was not as successful as hoped. Patterson"s lavish home (named "Brook Side Pines" by later owner John Riley) and its surrounding landscaped grounds, located on the north side of Hillsdale Avenue between Pascack Brook and Patterson Street, were the showplace of Hillsdale in their day.
The home eventually became the convent for Saint John the Baptist Church, and was destroyed in the early 2000s to make way for expansion of the Saint John school.