Patterson is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeast part of the county. Interstate 84 passes through the southwest part of the town. The population was 11,306 at the 2000 census. The town is named after early farmer Matthew Paterson. The reason Patterson was spelled with two "t"s was due to the looseness in which Paterson spelled his own last name. Watchtower Educational Center, a religious school and office complex operated by Jehovah's Witnesses’ Watchtower Society, conspicuously adjoins Route 22 in the southeastern part of town. The facility draws thousands of domestic and international visitors each year to its free guided tours and by-invitation educational programs.