History

James A. Patton was one of the founders of Bratenahl.  On November 8, 1904, the voters in the newly created Bratenahl Township selected James Patton as one of three township trustees.  The other trustees were Liberty Holden and Robert Ireland, Sr. The primary job of the new trustees was to approve a petition signed by township property owners that the township be incorporated as the new Village of Bratenahl.  The trustees approved the petition and called an election on November 21, 1904, on the question of whether the township should be incorporated as a village.  The voters unanimously approved the petition. The township trustees next called an election on December 13, 1904, to elect the new village officials.  At that election, James Patton was elected one of the five original members of Bratenahl City Council, a position he held from 1905 to 1909.

James A. Patton was born in Alloa, Scotland.  He came to Ohio in 1849 at the urging of his uncle Alexander Patton.  The elder Patton is said to have landed in Cleveland with two cents.  Within several years Alexander, known as Sandy, established his own business, the Patton Soap Factory, in a brick building in the Flats off Columbus Road. He built a home located at 378 Doan Avenue (East 105th Street) and sent for his nephew.

Eventually James acquired almost seven acres of land along Doan Avenue (East 105^th Street) including the home built by Sandy.   His rectangle shaped property was located north of the Foster and Moses development and would eventually be severed by Brighton Road.  He made his living growing fruits and vegetables on his property.  The family sold fruit at a stand on the southwest corner of Doan (Bratenahl Road) and Burton, near their orchards and home.

James married his wife Sarah on December 17, 1874.  They had two sons Alexander and A. B.  Sarah was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1840 and came to Cleveland when she was 8 years old.  Her family lived first on Old Garden Street, which is now Central Avenue in Cleveland.  Sarah Patton was a member of the United Presbyterian Church when East 9^th Street was known as Erie Street.  She was a charter member of the Glenville Presbyterian Church.

A 17-lot development known as the Haldeman & Patton Allotment on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard west of Doan Street was entered at the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office 1903. Dwight D. Haldeman, Frank M. Haldeman, and James Patton developed this area. To maximize sales of land in his allotment, Patton laid out Birchton Road (Brighton Avenue).

In 1906, when the village was seeking a location to build an elementary school, James offered to sell a portion of his land as a site for the new school building.  Initially, the Bratenahl Board of education leased the parcel at an annual rental of $360, on which was built the first building of the Bratenahl School.  James and Sarah Patton eventually sold the parcel to the school district for $6,000.  The deed was recorded on March 28, 1908.

Sarah died in April 1932.  James died on May 27, 1934, at the age of 84 at the family residence located at 378 East 105^th Street.  He had lived in the same house for 77 years.   Sarah and James Patton are buried at the East Cleveland Cemetery.