Daniel Pratt: Persistent When Everyone Else Stops

Daniel Pratt was an American businessman and industrialist who was instrumental in the opening of ventures and industries in Alabama. He was honored by the cities of Prattville in Autauga County and Pratt City in Jefferson County in Birmingham.

Pratt was born on July 20, 1799 in Temple, New Hampshire. Following his release from being an apprentice architect at 16 years old, Pratt left New England for Savannah, Georgia. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia after two years. By 1827, Pratt became a popular architect-builder. He became the leader of his trade in the South. In Georgia, Pratt met the cotton gins manufacturer Samuel Griswold who also hailed from New England. Pratt convinced Griswold to expand to Alabama but the partnership did not last long because of the disagreement they had with the Native Americans there.

On his own, Pratt gathered his family, two of his slaves and enough materials to construct 50 gins and moved to central Alabama, particularly in McNeil’s Mill. He leased a land located along the small creek in Autauga County. There, Pratt started producing cotton gins. Later, Pratt purchased a 1,822-acre land just north of his leased land where he constructed a cotton gin manufacturing facility in 1838. The small village in that area which became a home for the workers in his cotton gin factory became a town and was named Prattville.

In no time, Pratt’s facility became the world’s largest manufacturer of cotton gins. Cotton gins manufacturing became the first major industry in the state of Alabama. Since growth was inevitable, Pratt diversified into iron foundry, gristmill, window factory, sawmill, woolen mill, bank and railroad businesses, including the Oxmoor Blast Furnace in Birmingham. However, when the American Civil War broke out, Pratt’s business was one of the most affected since majority of his workers were recruited by the military and his customer base shrank significantly because the economy got sour.

After the American Civil War, Pratt spearheaded the Reconstruction by calling debts on Northern accounts. Pratt was able to rebuild his businesses. In turn, the economy of Autauga County became stable and prosperous after the war. Consequently, the Birmingham District opened as the center for iron making industry.