Patterson, GA

Patterson is a Pierce County city in southeast Georgia, a compact place named for William Paterson, proprietor of a local sawmill. The city was incorporated in 1893, and the 2020 census counted 749 residents. Its name preserves the old working landscape around the town, where timber and sawmills helped drive Pierce County’s growth. Patterson covers about 2.7 square miles, so the relationship between the city and the surrounding forest economy remains close.

ATTRJud McCranie / CC BY-SA 4.0

Today, Patterson remains a small city inside Pierce County’s broader timber and rural economy. The nearby county seat of Blackshear supplies the administrative reference point, while Patterson’s own streets and local government keep the community distinct. The city office is on Gardner Street. Patterson has also sent a few people beyond the county line: actress KaDee Strickland grew up here, and former Congressman Lindsay Thomas was born in Patterson. The story runs from one sawmill owner’s name to a nineteenth-century incorporation and a continuing relationship with the forests around Pierce County.