Patroon

Patroon is on the banks of Patroon Bayou at the junction of State Highway 87 and Farm Road 2261, seventeen miles southeast of Center in southeastern Shelby County. It was founded just before the Civil War. A post office was established in 1868 with William Duffed as postmaster. In 1884 Patroon had a population of twenty. During the 1890s, however, the farm population in the area increased, and sawmills were established to utilize the abundant timber of the area. By 1896 the community had a hotel, saw and grist mills, a cotton gin, several stores, three churches, a common school, Patroon College, and a population estimated at 150. By 1914 the population was 300. It remained fairly stable through World War II but then began to decline, as the rural population of the county fell and timber supplies diminished. By 1966 the population had dropped to fifteen, and in the early 1970s the post office closed. In 1990 Patroon had a population estimated at fifty-five, a town hall, a sawmill, a church, and two businesses. The population remained the same in 2000.