Isabel Garrard Patterson was born on December 23, 1894 at a home called "Wildwood'' to parents Louis F. and Anna Foster Leonard Garrard. The family home was built in 1831 and was the birthplace of Columbus author Augusta Evans. Isabel attended Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens and was a graduate of Hollins College where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. She later wrote a history of the Phi Mu organization. Isabel married Herman Wayne Patterson on June 24, 1915. Wayne was a graduate of Georgia Tech and played football under Coach John Heisman in 1911. He was an electrical engineer and active in real estate and insurance. Isabel Patterson was an enthusiastic supporter of archeology and discovered and sponsored the work conducted at the Bull Creek Site near Columbus. The Site is known for the discovery of the "dog pot" pottery. She wrote several papers on the subject of Bull Creek including Notes on the Exploration of the Bull Creek Site, Columbus, Georgia in 1950 and The Archaeological Survey of the Chattahoochee Valley which was presented at the second annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Washington, D.C. Isabel also arranged artifacts from the Site to be studied at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and arranged an exhibition at the Bradley Museum, now called the Columbus Museum, in which she insisted a while skeleton and "dog pot" be removed intact and displayed. Due to Isabel's social and political connections, she also served as the middle person arranging funding, support, and governmental approval for projects around the state of Georgia. She assisted and advocated for excavations within the newly formed Works Progress Administration (WPA). She worked closely with archaeologist, A.R. Kelly and John R. Swanton in collecting shards from the Lower Creek Settlements to encourage further excavations. She arranged for excavations of the Kasita/Lawson Field Site on Fort Benning and pushed for an archaeology program at the University of Georgia, which was ultimately established in 1938. She was also influential in the designation of the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon and the excavations of the Irene Mound in St. Mary's near Savannah. Isabel Patterson was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames and a member of the Georgia chapter of the same. She utilized the connections and influence of the organization in her push for the creation of the Hernando De Soto Commission in 1941 which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the explorer's journey through the Southeast of the US. It is the only commission established by the United States Congress to study a historical event. She later served as secretary for the Commission once it was formed. Through the Commission, Patterson oversaw the research, historical markers and parade planning which commemorate the journey. In late 1954, Isabel fell ill and was sent to St. Francis Hospital. She died January 6, 1955 at the age of 60 and is buried in the family plot of Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia. She left behind her husband, siblings, nieces, and nephews as well as countless friends and colleagues. Her work in archaeology continues to have a lasting impact and the way in which we view the past.