Brothers Amzi, Horace H. and John R. Patterson settled in Pea Ridge with their families and elderly parents, William and Elizabeth Patterson, around 1850 from Tennessee. Descendants of this family would play an influential role in the early growth of the town, with family members running the bank, building a large portion of the downtown business district, playing an active role in local churches, serving in local offices, and representing the area in the state legislature. The Patterson Cemetery, where several generations of the family are buried, in the eastern section of the town, marks the location of the family's original settlement site.