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Patton - BUSINESSES
Patton - RESOURCES
Patton - CHURCHES
Patton - SCHOOLS

Patton

The site of Patton, on Chest Creek where it is crossed by a natural travel route (now state highway 36), was early recognized as a desirable place for a settlement. As early as the mid-1840s a small village was established here by Caleb Howard, Cass Johnson, Mort Anderson, John McMasters and Jim Foster. For reasons that are not altogether clear, the place was called Polish Corners, although none of those early settlers were Polish.

In 1848 John McGuire, the grandson of one first settlers in Cambria County, Captain Michael McGuire, bought or built a mill at Polish Corners, and the site began to be known as McGuires Mills. McGuire sold out to Ferdinand Marks in 1866, and so the name was changed to Markstown.

The borough of Patton was officially established in 1893. Alexander E. Patton purchased land here in 1892. He went on to form the Chest Creek Land & Improvement Company, whose main goal was to develop a thriving community at Markstown, to take advantage of the coal and lumber resources in the area when a railroad was built from Mahaffey to Cresson through Markstown. When the town was incorporated in 1893 it was named Patton in honor of Alexander's father, John Patton.

Downtown Patton ca. 1910

Because Patton is just a bit over three miles southwest of Prince Gallitzin State Park, and it is the largest town situated close to the park, many of the State Park visitors get their supplies in Patton, or stay in Patton and make day visits to the park. It was sportsmen and the Chamber of Commerce from Patton who originally proposed the dam that created Lake Glendale, which in turn led to creation of the park. Prince Gallitzin State Park was dedicated on May 29, 1965, and at that time was the largest park in the county, and one of the largest in the state.

The old town section of Patton has been designated a registered National Historic District, the area roughly bounded by 5th, Beech, 6th, Palmer Ave. and Terra Cotta Street.

Another tourist attraction at Patton is the Seldom Seen Mine, which is an old hand-dug coal mine that now has been converted to a tourist site, where visitors can enter the mine accompanied by experienced miners who share their experiences. This is a chance for tourists to see what is like inside a millions of years old coal seam, deep underground.