Patton Park & Homestead

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails. My final pair of stops on the trip were Patton Park and Patton Homestead in Hamilton, MA. Combining the story of a military family with New England architecture and beautiful nature walks, these sites were the perfect way to end a successful trip.

Patton Park is maintained by the town of Hamilton and features a tank from World War II. It is named for the Patton family, specifically patriarch General George Smith Patton III who died in a car accident near the end of World War II, son Major General George Smith Patton IV who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and daughter-in-law Joanne Stanley Holbrook Patton who was instrumental in preserving the family’s legacy. Besides the tank, the park features a bandstand built in 1993 as part of the town’s bicentennial celebration.

Down the road at Patton Homestead, a free audio tour and an informational kiosk with a colorful map shared the history of the area. The audio tour even included an accurate transcript for those who prefer to read rather than listen, and historical photographs from the collection, which were curated with help from the Wenham Museum. The earliest section of the house was built in 1786 and was purchased by the Patton family along with about twenty-eight acres of surrounding land in 1928.

Several neat artifacts and memorials are located on the grounds. When the troops of Gen. Patton III captured a cannon from Morocco during the North African Campaign of World War II, he sent it home to his wife, Beatrice Banning Ayer Patton, as a gift. Mrs. Patton was a better sport than I would have been upon receiving this gift and aimed her cannon at the Ipswich River, located just down the hill, to “ward off invading pirates”. The cannon is neighbored by a millstone which dates from the late colonial era. It reminded me of the millstones found at Spohr Gardens in Falmouth, MA.

A portion of the spacious backyard was named “Pilot Field” in honor of Air Cavalry Troop 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment, which served in the Vietnam war from 1968 to 1969. Other parts in the backyard are called “Yano Plot” for Sergeant First Class Rodney Takashi Yano, a Japanese-American pilot born in Hawaii during World War II killed in action in Vietnam; “Blackhorse Field” for the nickname of the 11th U.C. Cavalry Regiment; and the much newer “Operation Troop Support Field” for a non-profit organization operating out of Danvers, MA since 2003. Beyond the field was a quiet nature walk through an area once known as Green Meadows Farm and a lookout area by the river. This is the perfect spot to sit on the comfortable wooden bench and watch birds.

Patton Park is open from dawn to dusk throughout the year. Meanwhile, the exterior of Patton Homestead follows the same schedule, provided that the building is not being rented for a special event. Guided tours of the interior are currently hosted by Wenham Museum. These last for about an hour, must be scheduled in advance, and cost between $10 and $20 per person. Even without a look on the inside, the excellent audio tour provided a thorough explanation of the property and its most famous family.