Dr. James Robertson Patterson

Patterson kept his dental office at his home, and neighbors paid in what they had; when a patient had little money, he accepted meals such as cooked beans. He donated dental care to the children at Bradley Elementary, so families who could not afford a dentist repaid him in meals and thanks, and he gave emergency care at all hours, day or night. A plaque at the community center that carries his name says he worked for better race and human relations. He died in 1969.

What the plaque says

Dr. James Robertson Patterson Born in North Carolina, Dr. Patterson was a World War I veteran who came to Murfreesboro after graduating from Meharry Medical College's School of Dentistry in 1924. Married to Buena V. Eaton (1887-1972) Patterson, a Bradley School teach, Dr. Patterson practice dentistry over forty years from his home office on South University Street. Praised for his professional and community leadership, he served as an officer in the National Dental Association. Continued: He also provided philanthropic service to the African American community through his dental practice and his activism to improve race relations. He was an organizer of Rutherford County Voter's Council and an officer of the Murfreesboro Human Relations Commission. An active member of First Baptist Church, the community honored him in 1970 when it named Patterson Park and again in 2003 when it named the Patterson Park Community Center in his honor.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Stones River National Battlefield — 3.7 mi
  The Murfreesboro battlefield of December 1862, with a national cemetery built by Black soldiers, a Trail of Tears route and the story of the freedmen's settlement called Cemetery.
• Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration — 24 mi
  The Shelbyville show grounds where the Tennessee Walking Horse has been crowned world grand champion each late summer since 1939, and where the practice of soring is part of the story.
• Henry Horton State Park — 25 mi
  A Duck River park on Governor Henry Horton's former farm in Marshall County, with a mill ruin from 1845, kayak floats and the grave of a governor the House declined to impeach.
• Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park — 29 mi
  A 2,000-year-old enclosure of piled stone and earth on the bluffs above the forks of the Duck River, built by Native people between about 80 and 550 A.D., with a museum and waterfall trails.

More markers nearby

• Holloway High School, 1929-1968 — steps away
• Mary Ellen Vaughan — steps away
• Bradley Academy — 0.2 mi
• First Baptist Church (East Castle Street) — 0.2 mi