FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, August 12, 2025

Contact:  Don Edgeworth, ACHA Board President

P:  334.546.7461

E :  director@autaugahistory.org

PRATTVILLE, AL – The Autauga County Heritage Association (ACHA) unveiled its five-year capital project and campaign at a Public Launch Reception held on Monday evening, August 11, 2025, at The Mill at Prattville Clubhouse on the banks of the beautiful Mill Pond in Prattville, Alabama. 

Over 150 community and civic leaders from Autauga County and statewide attended the reception to celebrate and support ACHA’s development of a new museum and archival library, STEM education center, and event venue in downtown Prattville.   The new campus will be called “The PRATT” and celebrate the many contributions of Prattville’s founder, Daniel Pratt.

“The PRATT will be an entertaining and educational facility providing access to Prattville’s unique and exciting industrial history.  It will serve to inspire all Alabamians by telling the unlikely story of how Alabama’s first industrial village was designed and built by a New England Yankee,” stated ACHA Board President Don Edgeworth. “Visitors will discover how Daniel Pratt’s original purpose of building and selling cotton gins developed into a vision that literally changed the state’s future,” added Edgeworth.  ACHA will use Prattville’s and Continental Gin Company’s rich industrial history to ignite a creative and inventive spirit among students and museum visitors through interactive exhibits and STEM activities. 

ACHA is planning for construction of the new museum and archive building and event hall at 201 Gin Shop Hill Road in Prattville.  Ground breaking is scheduled to begin Spring 2026 and the campus be open to the public Spring 2027.  The PRATT campus will contain an exhibit hall and gallery, archival research library, and adjacent event space.  The historic Continental Gin Company Research and Development (R&D) buildings are adjacent to the new museum and archive building site and will be renovated and repurposed to accommodate the STEM programming and the display of large artifacts such as original cotton gin machinery.  

ACHA Board President Don Edgeworth welcomed and recognized such noteworthy guests as state, county, and city elected public officials.  Don further welcomed and recognized over a dozen direct descendants of Daniel Pratt and his nephew Merrill Pratt, some who traveled from as far as Mobile, AL and Atlanta, GA.  ACHA Board Historian Ann Boutwell then thanked the many ACHA volunteers who worked so tirelessly over more than 10 years to preserve and catalogue invaluable archival records left by the Continental Gin Company.

                           

ACHA board members and campaign leaders Catherine Porter and Jeremy Day then turned attention to the ongoing capital campaign launched in early 2024 to help underwrite development of the new museum campus.  The capital campaign is aptly named Match the Moment, and its goal is to raise a minimum of $7.915 million.  Porter and Day recognized and thanked the 43-member Campaign Cabinet leadership team for having given generously of their time and financial resources to help guide the campaign towards success.   

Porter and Day announced to an approving crowd that ACHA has already resourced over $1.992 million towards the $9.907 million project and the capital campaign already has raised an additional $6,235,173 of its $7.915 million goal (80%) from 37 public and private donors.  “While this is exciting, much work remains to be done on the capital campaign, and we remain focused on not only reaching our goal but exceeding it.   We have dozens of  individuals, businesses, and organizations we’ve already visited with and are currently deciding on what their financial pledge support will be, and quite a few in our community remain to be visited,” stated Porter and Day.

         

ACHA Board Historian and community leader Ann Boutwell remarked, “Prattville and ACHA have an important and compelling story to tell.  A new museum and education center in Prattville which shares the history of one of Alabama’s most unique towns and its founder, Daniel Pratt, will not only be a source of pride for our community but will showcase Autauga County’s rich industrial history and its worldwide impact and influence.”

Other positive anticipated impacts of the new museum campus include: 

•Welcoming campus facilities and amenities with specific hours of operation. 

•Increased community education through improved programs and services. 

•An estimated 16,050 visitors are anticipated in Year 1 of operations. 

oOver 10,800 Alabama school-age children will visit the PRATT annually 

•A much-needed meeting and entertainment venue for public and private events.

•A significant local economic impact is generated by new construction, tourism, annual operations, and several new local jobs.