Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Prattsville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Prattsville

Prattsville dates to 1841

Most of Prattsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1970.

1841founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Prattsville began

When was Prattsville founded?

1841

Prattsville dates its founding to 1841 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 299 in 19702020 census: 289185 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about Prattsville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Prattsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1841: 185 years of Prattsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prattsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prattsville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Prattsville, 1841 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841
    FoundingPrattsville is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Prattsvillle post office opens
  4. 1868Born hereDavid Delano Glover is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1923Born hereJackson T. Stephens is born here
  7. 1954Born hereJoyce Dees is born here
  8. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Prattsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prattsville.

Read it all →

Prattsville, then part of Saline County, was first settled by Elder Joab Pratt, a Baptist preacher, accompanied by several other families, with the surnames of Mayfield, Pumphrey, McDaniel, and Cobb, all arrived by wagon train from Bibb County, Alabama in 1841. Mr. Pratt is the source of the town's name. Mr. Pratt operated Pratt's Ferry close to where modern day Highway 270 crosses the Saline River and served as the postmaster for Lost Creek Post Office in 1846. Mr. Pratt founded Philadelphia Baptist Church soon after settling in the area south of the modern day city limits.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Prattsville on the map, 1963 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prattsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Prattsville on the 1963 USGS mapPrattsville on the 1984 USGS map1963Prattsville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Prattsville.

People over time

Prattsville, census by census

0100200300198020002020Peak: 317

Between 251 and 317 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prattsville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Prattsville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
David Delano GloverArkansas lawyer and politician · b. 1868
J
Jackson T. StephensAmerican billionaire · b. 1923
J
Joyce DeesAmerican politician · b. 1954

Questions about Prattsville’s history

What year was Prattsville founded?

In 1841, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Prattsville’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1970 counted 299 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.