Autauga
Genealogical
Society
P. O.
Box
680668
Prattville,
Alabama
36068-0668
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1860
Autauga
County
Autauga County History
Autauga
County
is
located
in
the
central
part
of
Alabama,
wholly
within
the
coastal
plain.
The
county
has
also
held
a
central
role
in
the
Indian
or
aboriginal
history
of
the
state,
its
political
history,
agricultural
history,
and
early
industrial
development.
It is
bounded
on
the
north
side
by
Chilton
County,
south
by
Lowndes
County,
east
by
Elmore
County
and
Montgomery
County,
and
west
by
Dallas
County.
Historians
agree
that
the
name
"Autauga"
comes
from
the
Creek
Indian
language.
However,
there
are
many
differing
opinions
on
its
meaning.
Autauga
may
mean
"plenty,"
"land
of
plenty,"
"pure
water,"
"border,"
or
"corn
dumpling."
Each
definition
has
its
supporters.
Whatever
the
meaning
of
the
word,
the
county
was
named
for
the
Indian
town,
Atagi,
which
was
located
on
the
western
bank
of
the
Alabama
River
where
Atagi
(now
Autauga)
Creek
joined
the
river.
These
Indians
were
members
of
the
Alibamo
tribe
who
once
inhabited
the
county.
The
site
of
this
Indian
village
and
stream
would
continue
to be
significant
throughout
Autauga
County's
history.
Early
settlers
entered
Autauga
County
after
the
Creek
Indian
War
terminated
in
1814
with
the
Battle
of
Horseshoe
Bend.
They
sought
farmland
and
homesteads
in
the
fertile
soil
of
the
area.
The
influx
of
settlers
resulted
in
the
formation
of
Alabama
Territory
separate
from
Mississippi
in
1817.
Seven
counties
were
formed
with
St.
Stephens
becoming
the
capitol.
The
area
was
originally
part
of
Montgomery
County,
but
the
territorial
legislature
at
St.
Stephens
created
the
new
county
of
Autauga
on
November
21,
1818.
Alabama
became
the
22nd
state
on
December
14,
1819.
Autauga
is
thus
a
county
older
than
the
state.
By
Act
of
December
13,
1820
its
borders
in
the
north
and
northwest
were
enlarged.
The
borders
of
Old
Autauga
reached
from
Wetumpka
and
the
Coosa
River
on
the
east,
to
near
Clanton
on
the
north.
The
Act
that
created
Autauga
County
provided
that
for
the
time
being
court
should
be
held
at
Jackson's
Mill
on
Autauga
Creek.
However,
the
legislation
also
contained
the
traditional
escape
clause
of
that
era.
If
there
was a
lack
of
necessary
buildings
for
holding
of
court
at
Jackson's
Mill,
then
court
could
"adjourn
to
such
other
places
contiguous
thereto
as
may
seem
proper."
Little
is
known
of
this
first
court
site.
On
November
22,
1819,
one
year
and
one
day
after
the
county
was
created,
the
territorial
legislature
appointed
Robert
Gaston,
Zachariah
Pope,
Alex
R.
Hutchinson,
Alsey
Pollard
and
Zacchaus
Powell
to
select
a
site
for
the
permanent
county
seat
of
Autauga
County.
The
five
commissioners
were
also
authorized
to
contract
for
and
supervise
the
construction
of a
courthouse,
jail
and
public
pillory.
Finally,
the
commissioners
received
authorization
to
purchase
up to
40
acres
for
the
public
buildings
of
the
county
and
they
were
allowed
payment
of
$15
each
for
their
services.
Meanwhile,
the
former
Indian
village
of
Atagi
had
been
abandoned
and
by
1817
was
overgrown
in
peach
and
plum
trees.
In
1817
white
settlers
established
the
town
of
Washington
on
the
Atagi
site.
This
town
was
named
for
George
Washington
and
would
also
be
known
as
Washington
Ferry
due
to
the
river
crossing
at
that
point.
A
group
of
investors
had
purchased
land
at
this
location
at
various
government
land
sales.
This
land
syndicate,
consisting
of
Captain
J. P.
House,
General
Thomas
Woodward,
and
Dr.
Alexander
Hutchinson,
offered
to
give
Autauga
County
land
for
the
courthouse
and
jail
if
the
courthouse
were
located
at
Washington.
The
commissioners
accepted
this
offer
and
Washington
became
the
first
permanent
county
seat.
Moulton
and
Murphy
constructed
a
brick
courthouse
between
1820
and
1821.
The
woodwork
was
done
by
Mount,
a
northern
man.
Capt.
House
erected
the
first
hotel.
The
first
Circuit
Court
held
in
Washington
was
in
that
hotel,
in
the
fall
of
1820,
before
the
courthouse
was
completed.
The
jail
was
built
by
Thomas
Keith
and
was
constructed
of
hewed
logs
and
built
double.
A key
supposedly
to
this
jail
was
plowed
up in
the
early
1950s
on
the
farm
of
Oscar
Jones.
The
first
settlers
were
John
Mathews
and
sons,
Wade
Cox,
his
son-in-law,
Kitchens,
Holbrooks,
Charles
Rush,
Abe
Graham,
David
Goss,
Moulton,
Murphy
and
others.
Edwin
Fay
was
one
of
the
early
attorneys
and
also
taught
school.
The
first
merchants
were
Lynch
and
Ted
Robinson,
Pickett
and
Lot
Porter,
Holbrooks
and
Doster.
Wade
Cox
was
proprietor
of
the
tavern
and
operated
the
ferry.
The
first
physicians
were
Hutchinson
and
Edwards.
Rev.
Mark
Howard
was
an
early
Methodist
minister
who
preached
out
of
his
home
before
any
churches
were
established.
The
first
sheriff
of
Autauga
County
was
Capt.
J. P.
House.
He
was
appointed
by
Gov.
William
Wyatt
Bibb
and
re-elected
by
the
people
after
his
first
term.
His
deputies
were
Benjamin
Fitzpatrick
and
William
H.
House.
The
first
county
judge
was a
man
named
Ashby,
who
lived
one
and a
half
miles
below
Washington,
in
the
vicinity
of
Phil
Fitzpatrick,
who
represented
the
county
at
that
time.
The
next
county
judge
was
Ed
Terry,
the
third
was
Alvin
A.
McWhorter,
who
held
the
office
until
the
county
seat
or
courthouse
was
changed
to
Kingston,
he
then
resigned
and
Henly
Brown,
who
was
then
clerk,
was
appointed
judge
in
his
place
in
1832.
He
was
elected
twice
by
the
legislature
to
that
office
and
was
elected
Probate
Judge
by
the
people,
at
every
election
until
1862,
when
on
account
of
his
health
he
retired
from
public
life.
G. W.
Benson
was
elected
to
fill
the
office.
The
first
jury
at
Washington
met
on
April
12,
1820.
This
jury
was
presided
over
by
John
A.
Elmore,
Sr.,
who
was
chief
justice
of
the
Court
of
Justices
of
the
Peace.
He
had
fought
in
the
Revolutionary
War
and
moved
to
Alabama
in
1819.
Elmore
was a
resident
of
the
eastern
portion
of
Autauga
County
and
was
prominent
in
Alabama
politics.
He
died
in
1834.
When
Autauga
County
was
subdivided
on
February
15,
1866,
the
new
county
created
was
named
Elmore
in
his
honor.
For
a
time
Washington
rivaled
Montgomery
politically,
socially
and
industrially.
Its
population
was
also
greater.
Although
little
theaters
and
such
forms
of
entertainment
may
seem
of
recent
origin,
such
is
not
the
case,
as
the
act
of
the
legislature
which
incorporated
Washington
allowed
puppet
shows
to be
one
of
the
two
taxable
items
in
the
town.
According
to
Tanner's
Post
Route,
map
of
1833,
there
were
five
post
offices
in
Autauga
County.
These
were
Coosada,
Washington,
Vernon,
Independence,
and
Statesville.
Today
Washington
and
Vernon
are
ghost
towns.
Coosada
still
exists
in a
small
way
in
Elmore
County.
The
others
too
are
now
but
small
hamlets.
Until
1866
the
eastern
boundary
of
Autauga
County
extended
to
the
Coosa
River,
so
Coosada
(Koasati)
Indian
town
site
was
in
this
county.
Dr.
William
Wyatt
Bibb,
the
newly
appointed
governor
of
the
territory
in
1818,
selected
this
place
to
settle.
According
to
the
plat
of
the
town,
the
first
property
owners
were:
D. H.
Mayhew,
Ross
A.
Pope,
John
D.
Bibb,
John
McRhea,
Bolling
Hall,
J. B.
Clopton,
Ann
T.
Robinson,
Mary
W.
Bibb,
Mr.
Reese,
Mr.
Roberts,
Mr.
Dudley,
Mr.
Bradford
and a
square
conveyed
to
Governor
Bibb
in
trust
for
the
"Trustees
of
the
Academy."
Today
at
least
half
of
this
square
is in
the
river
as
the
map
shows
the
spring
at
the
ferry
landing
in
the
center
of
the
square,
whereas
now
the
river
bank
has
caved
and
the
spring
is at
the
water's
edge.
Front
Street
in
Coosada
fronted
the
Alabama
River.
There
were
East,
Water,
Center,
Court,
Spring
and
Dock
Streets.
The
squares
were
two
lots
wide
by
four
lots
long.
Each
lot
was
six
poles
square.
The
streets
were
five
poles
wide.
At
the
site
the
river
flows
almost
west
so
the
town
was
north
of
the
river.
New
Coosada,
where
the
Bibb
homestead
was
located
and
where
the
Halls
and
Jacksons
subsequently
lived,
is
back
a
mile
from
the
river.
The
Lewis
family
and
several
other
Georgians
settled
in
this
latter
locality.
Vernon
Landing
as
the
place
was
generally
called,
was a
noted
steamboat
stop
of
the
former
days.
It
was
located
on a
great
bend
of
the
Alabama
River,
three
miles
southwest
of
the
present
Autaugaville
and
just
above
the
mouth
of
Swift
Creek.
Vernon,
like
Washington
town,
is
named
in
honor
of
George
Washington,
whose
home
was
Mt.
Vernon.
The
first
roadway
in
the
county
ran
from
Washington,
through
Vernon
and
on by
the
mouth
of
Mulberry
Creek
to
Selma.
One
of
the
most
memorable
events
in
the
history
of
the
town
occurred
on
the
night
of
May
25,
1826
when
sparks
from
its
boiler
furnace
caught
the
steamboat
"Alabama"
on
fire
and
threatened
to
explode
a
large
quantity
of
black
powder
on
board.
The
frightened
passengers
fled
the
boat
as
the
crew
continued
to
unload
the
freight.
They
managed
to
clear
away
most
of
the
cargo
before
the
boat
exploded.
The
firm
of
Davis
&
Perkins
operated
the
first
mercantile
business
at
Vernon,
with
Bullard
&
Chase
arriving
soon
afterward.
Seaborn
Mims
was
the
first
tavern
keeper.
"Pickett's
Mills",
named
for
Colonel
Albert
J.
Pickett,
is on
a
point
near
old
Vernon
bluff.
It is
located
on
the
creek
and
not
the
river,
and
is
said
by
some
to
have
been
the
next
settlement
in
the
county
after
Washington.
However
the
Thompson
family
claims
that
Will
N.
Thompson,
Sr.
made
the
first
permanent
settlement,
even
before
Washington
was
founded,
at a
place
about
where
Reese's
Ferry
Bridge
(U.
S.
Highway
31)
is
today.
The
growth
of
Autaugaville,
only
three
miles
away,
brought
about
the
decline
and
death
of
Vernon
in
1849.
Another
factor
in
the
decline
of
both
Vernon
and
Washington
as
commercial
and
population
centers
was
the
sickness
that
prevailed
at
all
river
locations.
Families
were
deterred
from
building
permanently
in
these
areas
by
the
fevers
that
appeared
about
the
first
of
July
and
continued
until
the
frost.
The
town
of
Independence
was
named
in
honor
of
the
Declaration
of
Independence.
It
was a
busy
community
in
1829
when
Will
N.
Thompson
served
as
its
postmaster
at a
salary
of
$17.45
per
year.
When
the
courthouse
moved
from
Washington
to
Kingston
Mr.
Thompson
moved
to
that
place
and
built
a
tavern,
kept
public
house
and a
store,
remaining
there
for
the
remainder
of
his
life.
He
served
as
postmaster
at
Kingston,
and
at
one
time
occupied
the
position
of
Clerk
of
the
County
Court.
The
village
of
Independence
began
to
decline
in
1836
and
by
1840
most
of
the
business
establishments
had
left.
In
that
year
it
was
the
site
of a
tan
yard,
a
grocery,
a
blacksmith,
and a
woodshop.
Other
early
communities
of
note
were
Statesville
which
dates
from
1829
and
Dutch
Bend
which
was
settled
in
about
1820
by
families
of
German
descent
who
had
moved
here
from
Orangeburgh
District,
South
Carolina.
During
the
Creek
War
(1813-14)
Dutch
Bend
became
a
place
of
refuge
for
the
Creeks
after
their
defeat
at
the
Holy
Ground.
Here,
William
Weatherford's
wife,
Sapoth
Lanie,
died
two
days
after
the
battle.
Hamilton
on
the
ridge
between
Little
and
Big
Mulberry
Creeks
flourished
in
1836,
but
was
short
lived.
The
community
of
Ezell's
Store
was
opened
in
1819
when
Mr.
Ezell
bought
in a
fine
stock
of
goods
from
Charleston
in a
one-horse
peddler
wagon.
Daniel
Gordon
joined
Ezell
in
1821
and
for
many
years
they
operated
a
pole
boat
freight
service
from
along
the
Alabama
River
from
Mobile.
In
1825
Mr.
Ezell
bought
three
buffalo
from
a
Mexican
who
had
brought
a
herd
of
western
horses
into
the
county.
The
experiment
of
raising
buffalo
was
not a
successful
one,
as he
could
not
keep
them
penned.
They
were
eventually
killed
and
used
for
food.
Milton
was
another
village
which
years
ago
was
worthy
of
attention.
Between
1828
and
1830
William
Collins,
who
the
following
year
sold
out
to
John
Prince,
and
he
not
long
afterwards,
to
William
Kirk,
opened
a
store
there.
For
several
years
the
village
continued
to
improve
and
from
1834
to
1840
was
one
of
the
most
prosperous
villages
in
Autauga
County.
Among
the
most
famous
of
our
early
county
residents
were
William
Wyatt
Bibb,
the
first
governor
of
Alabama
and
the
only
governor
of
Alabama
Territory
and
Gen.
John
A.
Elmore,
already
mentioned.
William
Railford
Pickett
came
to
Autauga
County
in
1818.
He
served
in
both
branches
of
the
general
assembly
and
was
three
times
on
the
presidential
electoral
ticket
of
his
party.
Albert
J.
Pickett
grew
up in
Vernon.
He is
most
famous
as
the
state's
early
historian
and
author
of
"History
of
Alabama",
written
in
1861.
Other
prominent
Autauga
County
residents
include
Benjamin
Fitzpatrick,
governor
of
Alabama
at
the
time
of
its
secession
from
the
Union;
Dixon
Hall,
member
of
both
houses
of
the
legislature;
Crawford
M.
Jackson,
a
leading
citizen
and
planter,
also
represented
the
county
in
the
state
constitutional
convention.
He
served
as
speaker
of
the
House
in
1857;
and
Thomas
S.
Woodward
who
came
from
South
Carolina
and
settled
in
Washington
in
1818.
He
was
president
of
the
Senate.
Washington
remained
the
county
seat
of
Autauga
County
for
approximately
ten
years.
However,
as
the
county
grew,
dissatisfaction
over
the
courthouse
location
rose.
Washington
was
located
on
the
southern
edge
of
the
county.
It
was
inconvenient
to
many
citizens
of
the
county,
some
of
who
lived
as
far
as 40
miles
away.
On
December
28,
1827,
the
legislature
responded
to
the
dissatisfaction,
authorizing
an
election
to be
held
in
August
1828,
for
the
purpose
of
determining
the
wishes
of
the
citizens
on
removal
of
the
courthouse.
The
actual
vote
tally
of
that
election
is
lost
to
history.
However,
on
December
2,
1830,
the
legislature
again
appointed
a
five-member
commission
to
select
a
seat
of
justice.
This
time
the
commissioners
were
charged
to
select
a
courthouse
site
with
due
regard
to
"centrality,
population,
health,
and
general
convenience."
The
commissioners
chose
the
town
of
Kingston,
which
various
sources
claim
was
named
for a
town
in
England
or
one
in
north
Georgia.
Kingston
was
located
in
the
approximate
center
of
Autauga
County.
It
was
situated
about
eight
miles
northeast
of
the
town
of
Independence.
Although
it
was
at
the
center
of
the
county,
Kingston
was
not
the
center
of
population.
One
newspaper
editor
in
Wetumpka
scornfully
referred
to it
as
the
"Great
Sahara"
because
of
its
location
in
the
wilderness.
Kingston
never
really
prospered
as a
county
seat.
Its
population
remained
quite
small.
In
addition
to
the
county
officers
there
was
one
"grocery
keeper",
a
tavern
keeper
and
one
physician.
The
actual
move
of
the
county
seat
to
Kingston
took
place
in
August
1832.
Henly
Brown,
Meshack
Holman
and
Edmund
S.
Dorgan
(judge)
were
kept
busy
superintending
the
removal
of
the
county
records,
etc.
from
Washington
to
the
new
county
seat.
William
Walker
built
the
courthouse
at
Kingston
at a
cost
of
$6,400.00.
After
removal
of
the
courthouse
to
Kingston,
Washington
gradually
declined
and
by
1879
was
all
but
deserted.
Today
all
that
exists
at
the
site
of
this
once
prominent
town
are
the
remains
of
the
cemetery.
Overgrown
with
weeds
and
trees,
the
few
headstones
are
difficult
to
read.
The
large
brick
walls
that
surrounded
private
lots
have
crumbled
and
many
of
the
monuments
have
toppled.
The
site
is on
property
owned
by
Union
Camp.
Kingston
is
best
known
as
the
old
home
of
General
Edmund
Shackleford,
who
was
long
associated
with
the
State
militia
and
was
once
in
command
at
Tuskegee,
when
cooperating
with
Generals
Winfield
Scott
and
James
Jessup
during
the
Indian
troubles
of
1836.
The
only
historic
event
of
significance
to
take
place
in
Kingston
was a
great
rally
in
1863.
The
rally
was
called
for
the
purpose
of
raising
a
quota
of
soldiers
from
Autauga
County
for
the
Confederate
Army.
A big
barbecue
was
held
and a
number
of
patriotic
speeches
delivered.
One
of
the
leaders
at
this
rally
who
volunteered
to
equip
the
soldiers
was a
transplanted
northerner
who
had
arrived
in
the
county
only
a few
years
after
Kingston
was
selected
county
seat.
In
1863,
he
was
Alabama's
leading
industrialist
and a
very
wealthy
man.
His
name
was
Daniel
Pratt…
Daniel
Pratt,
who
was
born
in
Temple,
New
Hampshire
in
1799,
was
an
architect
and
builder
by
trade.
He
had
moved
to
Georgia
in
1819,
eventually
winding
up in
Clinton,
Georgia
where
he
managed
Samuel
Griswold's
Gin
Factory
in
1831.
It
was
here
that
Pratt
learned
the
manufacture
and
sales
of
cotton
gins.
In
1832
he
persuaded
Griswold
to
build
a
branch
of
the
factory
in
central
Alabama.
However,
Griswold
changed
his
mind
due
to
Indian
uprisings
in
the
area.
Pratt
was
determined
to
carry
out
the
plan
and
purchased
material
for
fifty
gins
and
in
1833
he,
his
wife
and
two
Negro
servants
began
their
journey
to
Alabama.
He
settled
temporarily
on
Mortar
Creek
where
he
assembled
and
painted
the
fifty
gins
he
had
brought
from
Georgia.
They
sold
very
quickly
to
the
local
planters
and
Pratt
began
to
look
for a
more
permanent
location.
He
leased
a
waterpower
site
on
Autauga
Creek
near
Washington,
known
as
McNeil's
Mill
for
five
years.
For
the
next
five
years
Pratt
produced
an
average
of
two
hundred
gins
annually.
Daniel
Pratt
determined
to
expand
his
facilities
so in
the
fall
of
1835
he
purchased
from
Joseph
May,
the
present
site
of
Prattville.
The
two
deciding
factors
in
the
selection
were
the
availability
of
waterpower
for
the
mills
and
the
abundance
of
yellow
heart
pine
for
the
manufacture
of
the
gins.
Pratt
moved
the
Gin
Factory
to
its
present
location
in
1839
and
began
to
build
a
town
modeled
after
New
England
mill
towns.
The
Pratt
Gin
Company
became
the
largest
Gin
Factory
in
the
world
and
the
demand
was
so
great
that
in
1854
a new
brick
factory
was
built
which
had
the
capacity
of
1500
gins
annually.
Pratt
once
stated
that
his
objective
was,
“…to
give
employment
to as
many
operatives
as
means
can
justify,
and
to
furnish
them
with
educational
and
religious
advantages.”
He
was a
man
of
his
word.
He
built
small,
comfortable
homes
for
his
workers
and
provided
them
with
gardens
so
that
they
could
grow
their
own
food.
He
built
a
Methodist
church
building
at a
personal
cost
of
$20,
000
and
was
responsible
for
the
1858
construction
of
the
Prattville
Male
and
Female
Academy.
Other
industries
established
in
Prattville
prior
to
1850
that
were
connected
to
Pratt
were
the
sash,
door
and
blind
factory,
a
horse
mills
factory,
machine
and
blacksmith
shops,
a tin
manufactory,
a
wagon
manufactory,
and a
flouring
mill.
The
sash,
door
and
blind
factory
supplied
articles
for
the
many
fine
homes
in
central
and
south
Alabama.
The
wagon
manufactory
became
widely
known
manufacturing
wagons,
carts,
drays,
carriages,
and
buggies.
The
horse
mills
factory
made
mills
for
grinding
corn.
The
tin
manufactory
made
tin
roofs,
gutters,
cooking
utensils
and
any
other
kind
of
tinware.
The
flouring
mill
was
built
in
1840
and
had
the
finest
machinery
available
at
that
time.
The Prattville Manufacturing Company was, next to the gin factory, the most important factory. It was organized by Pratt and incorporated in 1846. It was to become one of the most successful cotton and woolen mills in the Antebellum South.
A
wooden
plank
road
was
built
from
the
site
of
the
new
village
to
the
docks
of
Washington
on
the
Alabama
River.
When
it
came
time
to
erect
signs
directing
travelers
to
the
new
site,
the
sign
painter
was
about
to
list
the
name
as
"Pratt's
Mill",
but
Amos
Smith
suggested
the
name
"Prattville"
as
more
appropriate
for
the
emerging
town.
Daniel
Pratt
agreed
and
the
town
had
its
name.
As
throughout
the
South,
the
War
Between
the
States
had
its
effect
on
Autauga
County's
economy.
Cash
was
in
very
short
supply.
Goods
and
essentials
were
cut
off
by
the
Northern
blockade
and
industry
withered.
Agricultural
production
was
totally
disrupted
by
the
departure
of
the
counties
young
men
to
join
the
army.
Victory
by
the
North
meant
the
end
of
slavery
and
the
cotton-based
economy
of
the
South.
Plantations
and
factories
closed.
Autauga
County's
bright
future
as
the
center
of
industry
in
Alabama
fell
alongside
the
young
men
of
the
county
and
their
cherished
flag.
Following
the
War
Between
the
States,
Autauga
County
was
reduced
in
area
and
population.
In
1866,
Elmore
County
was
created
from
land
taken
from
eastern
Autauga
County
as
well
as
Coosa,
Tallapoosa,
and
Montgomery
counties.
In
1868,
Baker
County,
later
called
Chilton,
was
created
from
land
taken
from
northern
Autauga
County
as
well
as
Bibb,
Perry,
and
Shelby
counties.
The
population
of
Autauga
County
dropped
from
16,
739
in
1860
to
11,623
in
1870.
In
the
midst
of
these
changes,
a
movement
began
to
relocate
the
courthouse.
By
1868
Prattville
had
long
since
become
the
real
center
of
wealth,
population,
and
business
activity
in
the
county.
That
year
the
legislature
named
it
the
county
seat,
leaving
Kingston
to
become
nothing
more
than
a
ghost
town.
Daniel
Pratt
was
unanimously
elected
the
growing
town’s
first
mayor,
and
he
served
in
that
office
until
his
death
in
1873.
The
first
courthouse
built
in
Daniel
Pratt's
town
was
constructed
in
1870
at
147
South
Court
Street
directly
across
from
the
creek,
dam
and
industrial
complex
in
Prattville.
The
building
is
brick,
rectangular,
and
two
stories
in
height.
It
has
seven
windows
lengthwise,
and
three
windows
along
its
width.
The
gabled
roof
has
wide
eaves
supported
by
paired
scrolled
brackets.
This
building
is an
example
of
the
Italianate
style
of
architecture.
A
high-ceilinged
courtroom
occupied
the
second
floor
of
the
courthouse
and
county
offices
were
found
below.
The
jail
was
located
behind
the
courthouse
building.
The
first
Prattville
courthouse
and
jail
were
sold
for
$5,000
sometime
about
1905,
and
these
proceeds
were
applied
to
the
cost
of
the
new
courthouse
and
jail.
The
interior
of
this
1870
building
is
now
gutted
and
serves
as a
warehouse.
A
service
station
was
added
to
the
west
side
of
the
building
some
time
around
1924.
The
second
and
present
Prattville
courthouse
is
located
at
134
North
Court
Street.
Construction
began
in
1905
and
was
concluded
in
1906.
The
Bruce
Architectural
Company
of
Birmingham
was
the
architect
and
Lewman
&
Company
of
Louisville,
Kentucky,
were
the
contractors.
At
the
same
time,
Dobson
&
Bynum
of
Montgomery
contracted
to
design
and
build
a new
jail.
Prattville’s population remained fairly constant from just after the Civil War until 1940. Then from 1940 to 1980, the town grew from 2,664 to 18,647. The population increased 30% between 1990 and 1998, making it one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama over the last ten years. The population of Prattville today is about 30,000. Growth in the county has not been confined to Prattville. East and central Autauga County, along the I-65 corridor has also seen phenomenal growth. The future looks bright for Autauga.
*******
Sources:
"Autauga
County
Courthouse"
by
Samuel
A.
Rumore,
Jr.
[May
1995 Autauga
Ancestry];
"Autauga's
First
Courthouse
Finished
in
1821"
by
Judge
Frank
Gaddis
[Spring
1998 Autauga
Ancestry];
"Through
the
Years:
Old
Towns
in
Autauga
County"
by
Peter
A.
Brannon,
March
5,
1933 Montgomery
Advertiser;
"History
of
Autauga
County"
by
Shadrack
Mims;
"Autauga
Older
Than
State",
Prattville
Progress
July
22,
1982;
and
"Daniel
Pratt:
Southern
Industrialist"
as
appeared
in The
River
Region
Magazine.
"The Foggy Dew", the lovely Irish tune on this page is from Taylor's Traditional Tunebook.