On This Day In Alabama History: Alabama’s First Major Industrialist Born In New Hampshire
By Graydon Rust
Alabama 200
July 20, 1799
Alabama’s first major industrialist, Daniel Pratt, was born in New Hampshire. Pratt founded the Daniel Pratt Gin Company in 1833 and in 1838, constructed a permanent factory and founded the town of Prattville on 1,822 acres in Autauga County. His factory later became the largest supplier of cotton gins in the world. Using a diversified business strategy that included flour and grist mills, cotton and woolen mills, and window factories, he later used his resources to develop the railroad and mineral industries surrounding Birmingham. Pratt was inducted into the Alabama Hall of Fame in 1953, and much of his cotton gin factory still stands in Prattville today.
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