Prattville Gin Factory

The Daniel Pratt Cotton Gin Manufactory (Continental Eagle Corporation 1986–2012) was a cotton gin factory created by Daniel Pratt in 1854 (Present Buildings on west side of Autauga Creek), in what is now Prattville, Alabama,[1] a town named for him.

In 1986 Continental Eagle Corporation became the last owner and operator of this historic cotton gin machinery supplier.

The purchase of this land was to establish a permanent Cotton Gin factory location an other manufacturing companies.

The present Prattville area began with a small water operated sawmill, called May's Mill, on the banks of Autauga Creek.

[9] When built, the labor for the 1854 brick Pratt Cotton Gin Factory building was built under a design and direction contract with Daniel Pratt by T. B. Goldsby, A. J. Mullen, and Hiram Granger (all of neighboring Dallas County, Alabama) The Dallas county construction partnership used their own labor and construction works.

Daniel Pratt's connection with Horace King, the African-American architect, engineer and bridge builder is evidence in the Capitol Stairway.

[12] Daniel Pratt was also the designer and model builder of the Godwin & King 1832 built bridge of Columbus Georgia (History of Jones County GA).

King Cotton was still the dominant crop of the South, supplying textile factories and jobs in North America and England.

Many Cotton Gins still operate with machinery manufactured from the banks of the Autauga Creek in Prattville, Alabama.

These Historic Prattville Factory buildings show the Craftsmanship of design and workmanship of Alabama's first industry.......You can see the very skilled work in the fingerprints of the bricks manufactured over 170 years ago.

[26] In 2012, the last Cotton Gin manufacturer and owner of these historic buildings, Continental Eagle Corporation stopped production and closed down the factory.

The board of HPRA invested thousands of dollars to the property to repair and stabilize the roofing of the historic buildings.

Prattville Cotton Gin Factory reconstruction; 1848, 1852, 1854 and 1912 buildings; May 2022
1848, 1852 and 1854 buildings of the Prattville Cotton Gin Manufactory 1860 engraving by Capewell & Kimmel of New York.
1856 Pratt Cotton Gin Factory Engraving
Historic American Engineering Record Continental Gin Company drawing 1997 [ 3 ] Continental Gin logo reproduced by T Brown
1860 Daniel Pratt Cotton Gin Manufactory and Home.....A Capewell & Kimble engraving. Photographed, repaired and Color added from the original printed book "The History of Temple, N.H." [ 5 ] by Henry Ames Blood printer G.C. Rand & Avery 1860
Daniel Pratt [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
1851 Prattville engraving printed in the Debows Review. [ 8 ] Artist view from the grape vineyard to the rear of the Daniel Pratt Home on the west side of Autauga Creek with the first wood framed Gin Factory and Textile Factory on the east side of Autauga Creek. Also the 1848 Flour and Grist mill is to the right of the engraving and located on the west side of Autauga Creek. The oldest know image of Prattville. The engraving is signed by W Roberts SC ( "Sc" means "sculpsit" Latin for he sculpted it or engraved it.) Engraver William Roberts of Binghamton New York also known for his Pottery art of family owned White Pottery.
1856 New Orleans Broadsheet Advertisement engraving for the Daniel Pratt Cotton Gin Manufactory of Prattville Alabama.
2002 Fire photo of the PMC Prattville Manufacturing Company buildings of Prattville AL. Located on the east side of the Autauga Creek. (Downtown side where the present Green space is located....The Picker House building is the only surviving building.) This burned Textile factory was the setting of the 1893 famous ghost stories of 10 year old Willie Youngblood and his mother Venie) (These buildings were unrelated in products or management to the Daniel Pratt Cotton Gin Factory buildings presently located on the west side of the Autauga Creek.)