Patterson is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States, located off Interstate 5.

It is 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Tracy and is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[7] The Rancho Del Puerto Mexican land grant to Mariano and Pedro Hernandez in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena extended east of the present-day Highway 33 to the San Joaquin River.

Samuel G. Reed and Ruben S. Wade claimed the land on January 7, 1855.

A patent encompassing the land grant was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Eldredge held the title for only two months before selling it to John D. Patterson on August 14, 1866, for $5,400.

The land was sold to the Patterson Ranch Company on May 16, 1908, for the sum of $540,000 cash gold coin.

Determined to make Patterson different from most, he modeled his town after the cities of Washington, D.C., and Paris, France, using a series of circles and radiating streets.

The Patterson Colony map was filed with the Stanislaus County Recorders office on December 13, 1909.

[8] In May 1971, the chamber of commerce approved the title of "Apricot Capital of the World" for Patterson.

[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.0 square miles (16 km2), all of it land.

Advisory body members are appointed by the mayor, subject to the approval of a majority of the council.

During the first weekend in June, Downtown Patterson hosts the town's largest celebration of the year, the Apricot Fiesta.

The three-day celebration also features fireworks shows and, during early mornings, hot air balloons departing from the football stadium at Patterson High School.

Patterson has also been the site of the Fiestas Patrias celebration, commemorating the independence of various Latin American countries.

A freeway has been proposed for construction along this route, passing directly through the Diablo Range west of the city toward the San Francisco Bay Area.