Prattsville is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Greene County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The town is in the northwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 774.

History

Prattsville New York 1844 drawing cropped

The area of the town was first settled around 1763, and the region was then called "Schoharie Kill". An attempt during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

by the British and their

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

allies to drive the settlers out was thwarted when they were defeated by the settlers. Prattsville was established in 1824 from the town of Windham. Some of the town was lost to form the town of Ashland in 1848. Prattsville was later named after

Zadock Pratt Zadock Pratt Jr. (October 30, 1790 – April 5, 1871) was a tanner, banker, soldier, and member of the United States House of Representatives for two non-consecutive terms in the mid-19th century. Pratt served in the New York militia from ...

, a

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and prominent citizen. Pratt built a

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

larger than any other in the world at the time, helping it become a major town in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. His life is depicted through a series of stone carvings called

Pratt Rock Pratt Rock, also known as Pratt's Rock, is a rockface or other landform that includes a series of stone carvings in Prattsville, New York, depicting the life of Zadock Pratt. Pratt was supposed to be buried in a tomb carved into the stone, but wo ...

which he commissioned during his lifetime. The 1830 population of the town was 830. When Pratt built his tannery, it created a vast number of jobs, and the population grew to 1,989 by 1850. However, by 1845 all of the

hemlock bark Tanbark is the bark of certain species of trees, traditionally used for tanning hides into leather. The words "tannin", " tanning", " tan," and " tawny" are derived from the Medieval Latin , "to convert into leather." Bark mills are horse- o ...

had been non-sustainably extracted from the forests for around, and Pratt was forced to close the tannery. No Hemlock re-plantings had been undertaken by Pratt. The jobs that were lost could not be replaced, and the town's population dwindled to 1,314 by 1875. The

Old Episcopal Manse Old Episcopal Manse is a historic Episcopal manse building on New York State Route 23, Main Street in Prattsville, Greene County, New York. It was built about 1845 and is a -story, cross-gable house type with Gothic Revival style features. It ...

was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2000, and the

John and Martinus Laraway Inn John and Martinus Laraway Inn, also known as the O'Hara Home, is a historic home located at Prattsville, Greene County, New York. It was built about 1785 and altered about 1830, and is a two-story, five-bay, single pile, Greek Revival style fra ...

was added in 2012. On August 28, 2011,

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...

caused record flooding in the town by

Schoharie Creek Schoharie Creek is a river in New York (state), New York that flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain (New York), Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains, Catskills through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice ...

, causing major damage and destroying large areas of the town. Every structure on the strip that comprises Main Street was partly or fully destroyed, including all 22 of the town's businesses. Eleven houses collapsed in the flood, fifteen were condemned and torn down, and more than 100 homes were so damaged that the residents couldn't return to them, but there were no fatalities. It received widespread national news coverage because the town had nearly been washed away. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo labeled Prattsville as the place in New York State hardest hit by the storm.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.51%, is water. The town is in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

. The northern town line is the border of Schoharie County, and the western town line is the border of Delaware County.

, a tributary of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, flows northward through the town past the hamlet of Prattsville.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 665 people, 253 households, and 182 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 406 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.95%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.15% Asian, and 0.60% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population. There were 253 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,655, and the median income for a family was $33,571. Males had a median income of $35,313 versus $17,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $14,962. About 4.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Communities and locations in Prattsville

*Four Corners – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on the eastern town line, northeast of Prattsville village. *Pratt Rocks – A collection of rock carvings east of Prattsville village. * Prattsville – The hamlet of Prattsville is in the southern part of the town on Route 23. It was incorporated as a village in 1883, but later abandoned that status. *Red Falls – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town on Route 23.

References

External links

Town of Prattsville official website

Pratt Museum
{{authority control Towns in Greene County, New York Towns in New York (state)