Town of the Week

Prattville, Alabama
April 24, 1999

Born in New Hampshire exactly 200 years ago, Daniel Pratt moved to Alabama in 1832. He became a key figure in the state's cotton industry, settling along the banks of Autauga Creek, and harnessed the water to provide power for a factory. This factory still is the largest cotton gin manufacturer in the world.

As the state's first industrialist, he became Alabama's first millionaire, and founded the town which bears his name, Prattville. Pratt owned a brick factory; a sash, door and blind factory; and one of the most successful cotton and woolen mills in the Antebellum South. He established Sunday schools, built churches, constructed model schools, financed railroads, and opened markets for the town's goods. Daniel Pratt and his town are being honored by the state of Alabama with a week-long celebration, which kicks off today with fun runs and a family reunion. The celebration concludes next Saturday with an industrial exposition, musical stages and Cityfest, hundreds of craft vendors, a celebrity golf tournament and a concert by Alabama in the town's Stanley Jensen Stadium.

Today, you'll find Prattville to be a lovely town of 25,000 people, and the seat of Autuga County. Its downtown has been declared a national historic district, with many impressive older buildings still in use. Among the town's attractions to visit are a Wilderness Park with a 26 acre bamboo forest, and a beautiful mansion called Buena Vista. This is the home of the High School Lions, our Town of the Week, Prattville, Alabama.