THE PRATT FAMILY

The Pratt family was instrumental in settling the young St. Louis Park, and Park’s first school was named after them. These are a few of the Pratts of St. Louis Park:

Job Pratt filed for a 45-acre lot in section 21 on September 7. His wife Polly was said to be the "first to be taken to her long home," passing away in 1856 or 57. He must have had a previous wife named Mary who passed away before he moved west. Olivia Pratt Hamilton (see below) was the daughter of Job and Mary Pratt.

Joseph Hamilton married Olivia Pratt (b. Clinton, Maine), daughter of Job and Mary Pratt. Olivia gave birth to son Chesley on November 24, 1857 – perhaps the first white child born in the area that would become St. Louis Park. Chesley's marriage to Rebecca Hunter on October 17, 1888 in Union Church was also said to be the first in the incorporated village. Olivia died in April 1864.

Martin Van Buren Pratt was born in Clinton, Maine on November 10, 1833, and moved to the Midway district of St. Paul with his parents at age 17. Pratt began buying land in Section 6 as early as 1855. Most of the 240 acres later became the Belt Line Industrial Park. He married Harriet Hawkes, who had come to Hennepin County as a child, on May 15, 1858 – described as the first “authentic” marriage in the township. Living for a time on a farm in Richfield and in Colorado, in 1860 they settled on 210 acres in Section 6, with a farmhouse on Excelsior Road. Pratt was a member of Brackett's battalion during the Civil War, serving from 1861 to October 28, 1864. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He and Harriet had four children: Amy, Frank, Abbie, and Lillie. Pratt died on March 19, 1891.

The 1881 directory also lists an R.L. Pratt with 40 acres in Section 17 (site of the future Creosote Plant and environs) and Stephen Pratt, also in Section 17 but with no acreage.

In 1854, David Spearin Pratt was deeded 120 acres of land from the Federal Government that encompassed both sides of France Avenue, bounded by present-day Randall Ave. on the north and 38th Street on the south. This plot included both sides of Excelsior Blvd. between Joppa and into Minneapolis. Pratt seemingly sold the land to H.B. and Sarah Wright in 1858, but when Pratt died in 1864 it reverted to his estate, the proceeds to be sold and distributed among his heirs: Delphina B. Pratt and minors Isabella H. Pratt, and H. Kossuth Pratt
(b. 1853).  Executors were Miles G. Pratt, Nelson J. Pratt, and Alonzo Sawtell. The land was sold to Christopher Hanke for $1,500 in 1864.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.