As it is unincorporated, it is located in the Central Unorganized portion of Parry Sound District.

There are also some cottages located on the south shore of Lake Nipissing, but the area has no permanent residences.

There are approximately 300 people living in the township (415 including nearby Farleys Corners and Carr).

The township is also home to Restoule Provincial Park, located between Restoule and Patterson Lake and the French River Provincial Park located along the south shore of the French River and Lake Nipissing.

This township in Parry Sound District was named in 1876 for Christopher Salmon Patterson (1823–93), a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal, 1874–88, and of the Supreme Court of Canada, 1888–93.