The Daniel Pratt Historic District [†] encompasses over two hundred properties with structures dating from the 1840s to the early 20th century, representing a range of commercial, industrial, residential, and institutional architecture. The district, named after New Hampshire-born industrialist Daniel Pratt, includes the nucleus of Prattville and its earliest industrial buildings along Autauga Creek, as well as the Pratt family cemetery and several significant mill-related houses.
Daniel Pratt established the town in the late 1830s after acquiring 1,000 acres, attracted by the potential of waterpower from Autauga Creek. He constructed his first cotton gin factory in 1838, which grew to become the leading manufacturer of cotton gins below the Mason-Dixon Line by 1860. Pratt’s vision was to create a model Southern industrial community, emphasizing the dignity of labor, improved conditions for poor rural whites, and social control through a small village structure inspired by New England ideals. The village included housing, churches, schools, and commercial buildings, with Pratt maintaining close oversight over all aspects of civic and industrial life.
The district’s architectural significance lies in its antebellum factories, varied domestic housing from mill workers’ cottages to elite artisan residences, and a highly intact commercial area. Prattville remained a center of industrial innovation and textile manufacturing into the 20th century, weathering natural disasters and economic changes. Key surviving buildings include cotton mills, the original gin factory, and commercial structures built between 1840 and 1930. Many aspects of Pratt’s original mill village, including his approach to social and industrial design, influenced later industrial communities across the South.
The District features a variety of house styles reflecting its evolution from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. The earliest domestic structures are story-and-a-half frame houses, likely designed or influenced by Daniel Pratt, suitable for industrial managers and skilled artisans. These homes show a uniformity consistent with Pratt’s background as a carpenter before becoming an industrialist.
Other prominent residential styles include workers’ cottages from the 1880s, following a simple two-room format with a central chimney and front porch. Later variants (turn-of-the-century) introduced a rear “ell,” different sashing, roof pitch, and detail, but retained the essential two-room structure. By the 1920s, mill housing adopted vernacular bungalow forms, recognized by their broad front gables, in line with popular American middle-class designs at the time.
The District also features examples of Victorian eclecticism and early twentieth-century revival styles in its later housing stock, representing the architectural diversity introduced as Prattville expanded beyond its initial mill village roots and became a local trade center.
† Adapted from: Michael Bailey and Robert Gamble, Alabama Historical Commission, Daniel Pratt Historic District, nomination document, 1984, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C., accessed October, 2024.
Street Names
1st Street • 3rd Street • 4th Street • 5th Street • 6th Street • Bridge Street • Chestnut Street • Court Street • First Avenue • Hunts Alley • Maple Street • Northington Road • Washington Street • Wetumpka Street