Pratt County, KS

History

Organized in 1873. County seat Iuka, but not recognized in consequence of frauds. Pratt is now the county seat. Organized constitutionally in 1879. Named in memory of Caleb Pratt, Second Lieutenant of Company D, First Kansas Infantry, killed in action August 10, 1861 at Wilson's creek, Mo.

Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)

William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Pratt County.

The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Pratt, Cullison, and Coats.

The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Pratt County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Pratt County

                           2000
    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Byers                       50  67021               2006
    Cairo                                               1730
    Coats                      112  67028       1887    1970
    Croft                                               2035
    Cullison                    98              1886    2040
    Hopewell                                            2044
    Iuka                       185  67066               1950
    Natrona                                             1879
    Pratt                    6,570  67124       1884    1890
    Preston                    164  67569               1840
    Sawyer                     124  67134       1887    1910
    Springvale                                          1950
    Waldeck                                             1778

Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Pratt County

Lemon Park, close to downtown Pratt, is a beautiful park and was home to the Kansas Sampler Festival in 1998 and 1999.
Byers has a nice Methodist church built in 1947 from three kinds of brick and a tiny frame city hall. It also has an amazing number of junked cars, trucks, and strange machinery.
Iuka is impressively prosperous. The grade school (USD 382) is still open, the bank and post office downtown look new, the elevators and farm supply store are going strong, and there are two cafes. Northeast of town the land is flat with oil wells everywhere.
There is a roadside park beside K-61 in Preston.
The Barron Theater is a grand old Moorish castle stuck on a Kansas street.
West of Cairo, there used to be a little stucco tower on the south side of US-54. It was an old "tourist attraction" gas station that disappeared when the highway was improved.

Libraries

Pratt Public Library (620) 672-3041
Fourth & Jackson, Pratt, KS 67124

Museums

Pratt County Historical Museum (620) 672-7874
212 S. Ninnescah, Pratt, KS 67124
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Monday - Sunday

Pratt County School Systems

USD 382 Pratt Public Schools (620) 672-4500 Pratt
USD 438 Skyline Schools (620) 672-5651 Pratt

Colleges & Universities

Pratt Community College (620) 672-5641
348 NE SR 61 / Pratt KS 67124

Hospitals

Pratt Regional Medical Center (620) 672-7451
200 Commodore St., Pratt, KS 67124

Newspapers

Pratt Tribune (620) 672-5511
320 S. Main / P. O. Box 909, Pratt, KS 67124

More Data About Pratt County

Economic Development

Kansas County Profile Reports
Statistical data from The Institute for Public Policy and Business Research

Health Data

KDHE's Pratt County Health Profile

Genealogy

Pratt County KSGenWeb

References

Fitzgerald, Daniel Faded Dreams : More Ghost Towns of Kansas ( University Press of Kansas. 1994)
WPA The WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas ( Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. 1984 )

Pratt County Offices

Pratt County (620) 672-4110
300 S. Ninnescah St., Pratt, KS 67124
Extension Service 620-672-6121
824 W 1st St / Pratt, KS 67124

For more about Pratt County contact:

Pratt Area Chamber of Commerce (620) 672-5501
Box 469, Pratt, KS 67124