Samuel Legerwood Patterson (1850–1908) was a North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 politician and farmer.

The son of Samuel F. Patterson

Samuel F. Patterson

Samuel Finley Patterson was a North Carolina politician, planter, and businessman.Born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Patterson went to live with his uncle in Wilkesboro, N.C., in 1811. He married Phoebe Caroline Jones, a granddaughter of William Lenoir, in 1824...

 and his wife, Phoebe Caroline, Patterson was born at Palmyra, the family plantation in Caldwell County, North Carolina

Caldwell County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...

.

He served in the state House of Representatives

North Carolina House of Representatives

The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

 in 1891 and 1899

North Carolina General Assembly of 1899-1900

Members of the North Carolina General Assembly for the 1899–1900 session were elected in November 1898. The election saw the Democratic Party return to majority status in both houses, replacing the fusion of Republicans and Populists...

 and in the North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate

The North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...

 in 1893. In the legislature, he was chair of the committee on agriculture. He was also a trustee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

. Patterson was appointed commissioner of agriculture from 1895 to 1897, when he was removed by the Fusion

Electoral fusion

Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate...

 of Republicans and Populists that came to power that year. He was reappointed in 1899 and then became the first popularly elected commissioner in 1900. He served until his death in 1908. Patterson Hall at North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 is named in his honor. He and his wife bequeathed Palmyra to the Episcopal Church as a school, which still operates today as The Patterson School

The Patterson School

The Patterson School is a private, non-profit, co-educational, non-denominational, multi-cultural boarding and day school for grades seven through twelve, and one year for Post Graduate study, located in Lenoir, North Carolina...

.