Prattville Gin Factory

Early in the 1830s, Daniel Pratt purchased an estimate of one thousand acres of land on Autauga creek at around twenty-one dollars an acre from Joseph May. The land was to be paid in four instalments from 1836 to 1838. The purchase of this land was the starting point for Pratt's Manufacturing Company. Slave labor was used to build the factory and Yankees helped to pay for the financial portion. The factory began as a small sawmill and used the creek to power the machines used in the factory. During 1846, this factory was one of the most important cotton mills in the South, and in his Prattville Manufacturing Company.[3]

In 1854, Pratt built a three-storey brick building to manufacture a thousand gins a year. It is locate directly behind the Daniel Pratt Gin Factory and produced over nine hundred cotton gins to supply Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.[4] Two of his goals of creating the factories were to employ poor whites and create a "village of good morals and good society". By 1860, The town of Prattville became a village of good morals and good society with many manufacturing companies and blacksmiths coming into town.

During the Civil War, the factory helped Daniel Pratt become the leading manufacturer of cotton gins in the South. Pratt became very wealthy from selling gins in the midst of the Civil War. The Prattville Dragoons, the first group of men from Prattville to serve in the Civil War for the Confederate Army, were supplied with uniforms from the mill.[5]

After the Civil War, Pratt continued to make gins and became the first millionaire in the South until he died on May 13, 1873. The Prattville Manufacturing Company continued as the Continental Gin Company when it merged with other companies in 1899. It continued to operate until the current owners, Continental Eagle, stopped production in 2012.[2]

In the 1800s, the South was a major agricultural area and used enslaved labor to pick cotton and various other resources. Enslaved labor was also used in the industrial field. Years before Pratt's arrival, Autauga County's slave population was over fifty percent. Pratt owned a few slaves prior to his coming to Autauga County. He defended slavery and told his father in 1827 "that to live in any country it is necessary to conform to the customs of the country in part."[3] On his way to Autauga, he brought his wife, two slaves and enough material to build fifty gins. Pratt needed more physical labor to clear the land and build his factory, so he purchased twenty slaves to assist him.

On completion of the factory in 1839, Pratt's ownership of slaves increased over the years. Enslaved labor was used in the factory, along with whites that Pratt wanted to help. After the Civil War, Pratt released his slaves and hired some into the factory with pay. He also helped "poor whites", mostly women and children, so he could create a town of "good morals". By 1860, Pratt employed around 140 poor white women and children.[3] The gin factory produced over one thousand gins per year.

In 2012, the current factory owner Continental Eagle stopped production and closed down the factory. On December 29, 2014, the factory building was set for auction. Many companies have interest in purchasing the buildings, but city officials tried to find a way to save the historic property. The board invested thousands of dollars to the property, with permission from Continental, to fix the roofing. The buildings are being auctioned to hopefully bring in developers to boost the popularity of the town.[6]