County: Autauga

Prattville Chamber of Commerce

Official Website of Prattville, Alabama

It was Pratt's objective to give employment to as many operatives as his means would justify. It was not just his intent to provide jobs, but to furnish families with educational and religious advantages as well. He built small, comfortable homes for his workers and provided them with gardens so that they could grow their own food. In addition, he provided the financing for building churches and schools for the new town.

The establishment of Prattville as a world-class industrial town was accomplished in less than a dozen years. In addition to the gin factory, Pratt built a sawmill, a gristmill, a cotton factory and an operation that produced sashes, doors and blinds. His enterprises prospered and so did the town.

Daniel Pratt was opposed to secession because he believed the South did not possess the resources to sustain itself without the North. However, once Alabama had withdrawn from the Union, Pratt went with his adopted state and became a generous supporter of the Prattville Dragoons, the Civil War volunteer unit from Prattville. He also provided relief to families of Confederate soldiers during and after the war.

In 1868, Prattville became the county seat of Autauga County. This was a prize that Pratt had sought for a number of years and because it gave added importance to the town Pratt concluded that a city government was in order. Daniel Pratt was unanimously elected the town’s first mayor, and he served in that office until his death in 1873.

After Pratt's death his nephew, Merrill Pratt, assumed control of the town and the gin factory. Under his leadership Prattville continued to prosper. Merrill Pratt passed away in 1889, and the town's destiny fell upon Daniel Pratt II. Under his reign the gin factory was sold to Continental Gin Company. By this time a division of the wealth had occurred and Prattville was no longer a town controlled by one man.

After the turn of the century elected officials changed every four or eight years. One of the earliest of the twentieth century mayors was Malcolm A. Graham.

Prattville’s population remained fairly constant from just after the Civil War until 1940. Then from 1940 to 1980, the town grew from 2,664 to 18,647. At some point during period after World War II Prattville became known as a bedroom community to Montgomery. The town gradually grew and by 1980 several new sub-divisions had been added to the corporate limits.

The decade of the 80s saw a period where future growth became more and more apparent. Land prices began to escalate, especially in the eastern section of the town. Housing in that area mushroomed and by the early 1990s significantly additional commercial growth was apparent. Mayor C. Gray Price's twelve year administration prepared the town for what was to come. However, it was the six plus years under Mayor David Whetstone that saw both the population and commercial growth literally explode.

At the start of the new millennium officials estimated the city’s population approached 30,000.

-from the Autauga County Heritage Association

Prattville Caboose 

The Gordon and Kathleen Musgrove Fountain

Prattville, Ala. (AP) A bell more than 100 years old still summons elementary school children to class each morning, just as it did for some of their forefathers. Daniel Pratt, who founded this town, had the 2,300 pound brass bell made for the Prattville academy, which he also established. From the late 1850's until 1927, town children knew its gong meant the start of classes.

Then a new school was built -and the old bell was put aside until 1853, when a special tower was built for it on the school grounds, site of the old academy where it first rang. The tower was built by Continental Gin Company and still holds the bell on the school grounds. Sidney Lanier (Link) taught at the academy, in 1867. He left after an illness forced his return to Macon, Ga. John Hopkins Link The size of the bell in the Times article was wrong. The correct size and weight is 36" diameter and 900 lbs.

Continental Eagle Corporation, located in Prattville, Alabama U.S.A., manufactures and markets worldwide a premier line of cotton ginning, cotton processing and handling equipment. Continental Eagle has a complete network of sales and service facilities located throughout the United States cotton belt and in the cotton producing areas of the world. Since 1832, Continental Eagle has remained the world leader in the design and manufacture of machines and systems for fiber industries. Continental Eagle's IMPCO division, based in Prattville, Alabama manufactures machinery for the oilseeds processing industry.

The World's Oldest Cotton Gin Factory

It all began with this man, Daniel Pratt, who set out to build the finest cotton gin possible and to make them available, in great numbers, for a growing nation. With his exceptional skill as a carpenter and flair for mechanics, he began manufacturing gins in a small gin factory in Clinton, Georgia with Samuel Griswold.

The two formed a partnership in 1832 but the following year Daniel Pratt decided to expand west to Alabama for the growing cotton gin market. Griswold declined to go so Pratt set out with supplies for 50 cotton gins and began making them in a small blacksmith shop. Pratt moved to two different locations before purchasing a large track of land with fine water power and large lumber reserves to run his factory. He founded the town of Prattville and the rest is history..........

By 1844, the Pratt gin was widely known and acclaimed for its rugged quality. To fill the great demand for the Pratt gin, construction began in 1853 on a large factory in Prattville. This factory became the largest cotton gin manufacturing plant in the world and still holds that distinction.

In 1899 a merger of the five largest Cotton gin manufacturers became known as the Continental Gin Company. With the expertise of the different companies.... the manufacture of cotton gins progressed to a science.

Today Continental Eagle Corporation is the ancestral home of the world's largest gin manufacture and includes a complex of office buildings, research and manufacturing facilities . This Prattville plant has produced more cotton gins than any other manufacturer in the world.

In addition to its home office, Continental Eagle Corporation's primary manufacturing facility is in Prattville, Alabama, but also has a complete network of sales and service facilities located throughout the cotton producing areas of the United States and the world.

In the United States, repair parts & service offices are located in   Casa Grande, Arizona - Lubbock, Texas - Southaven, Mississippi - Fayetteville, North Carolina - Rayville, Louisiana - Visalia, California. International Sales Offices are located in Prattville, Alabama, Brussels, Belgium, and a sales and repair parts office in Narrabri, New South Wales - Australia.

Today, Continental Eagle continues to build on its rich heritage of engineering excellence. It is on our computers that many important new ginning ideas first take form... and on which the best designed ginning systems begin. The Tradition Continues...

The Pratt Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in the world guarded by a laser alarm system. The cemetery was renovated several times, thought the years by the Continental Gin Company. The last renovation was made in 1995 after several times the object of vandalism. "Only four of the 31 headstones were intact and were not defaced," said Robert Young Chairman of the Restoration Committee.  The project cost about $35,000.00. The Weeping Willow Lamb motif of the wrought iron fence is the same pattern found at the Samuel Griswold Cemetery, in Griswoldville, Georgia. (Griswold Cemetery Photo 1   Photo 2) This pattern was used at the Trinity TV studios in Dallas, Texas. The original Casing was probably a casting from the Janey Foundry of Montgomery. The border of the fence pattern matches a pattern from the Janey pattern collection owned by Robinson Foundry. Some  fence sections were recast in the 50's by Continental, noted by a flat surface on the back. The fence sections were recast by Robinson Iron for the restoration. Thanks to Robert Young and the cemetery renovation committee for a job well done.

Today, the Daniel Pratt Historic District is undergoing an exciting revitalization to preserve Pratt's legacy. Progress continues in restoring streets and buildings, unique shops and eateries and recently opened creek walk.

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