Prattsville, Arkansas

Prattsville, Arkansas
—  Town  —
Location in Grant County and the state of Arkansas
Coordinates: 34°18′58″N 92°32′45″W
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Grant
Area
• Total	1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2)
• Land	1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	299 ft (91 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	305
• Density	165.9/sq mi (65.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	72129
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-57230
GNIS feature ID	0053780

Prattsville is a town in Grant County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 305 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Prattsville is located at 34°18′58″N 92°32′45″W (34.316050, -92.545868).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.3 km² (1.7 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 282 people, 115 households, and 83 families residing in the town. The population density was 66.0/km² (170.6/mi²). There were 128 housing units at an average density of 30.0/km² (77.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.65% White and 0.35% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.35% of the population.

There were 115 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,679, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $19,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,544. About 9.8% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 20.4% of those sixty five or over.

Notable Prattsvillians

Orville Ashley is a member of the Arkansas High School Coaches Association and the Arkansas Officials Association Hall of Fame being inducted in 2003. Ashley was a highly respected boys basketball head coach for the Prattsville Whippets during his career.

David Delano Glover (January 18, 1868 - April 5, 1952) was born and attended public school in Prattsville. He was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas. He served six terms from March 4, 1929-January 3, 1935. He was admitted to the bar in 1910.

Robert W. Glover, David Delano Glover's brother and a Missionary Baptist pastor served in both houses of the Arkansas Legislature (1905–1912) from Sheridan. He lived briefly as a child in Prattsville. In 1909, he introduced the resolution calling for the establishment of four state agricultural colleges.

Jackson T. Stephens (1923–2005) born on a farm near Prattsville during the Great Depression, he became one of the country's major power brokers through Stephens, Inc., the largest trading company outside of Wall Street, located in Little Rock. A quiet, unassuming man, he donated millions of dollars to worthy causes, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus, the Delta Project, the U.S. Naval Academy, First Tee of Arkansas, the Prattsville Community Center, and others. His personal art collection, of which he donated a portion of to the Arkansas Arts Center, has been recognized as one of the most important art collections in the country. He served as chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, overseeing The Masters golf tournament. He is interred at Philadelphia Cemetery in Prattsville.

Wilton "Witt" R. Stephens (1907–1991) was born in Prattsville and is the older brother of Jack Stephens. He began his career selling belt buckles and Bibles door to door in the late 1920s. During the Great Depression, Witt purchased municipal bonds for ten cents on the dollar, confident that the bonds would be redeemable under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Reconstruction Finance Corporation. He sold the bonds on a profit to make a small fortune in the worst economic climate in American history. He went on to invest in natural gas, oil, and gold mining industries. After World War II, he was known as the "kingmaker" due to his influential power over the state's political branches. The Grant County Museum building is named in his honor. He is interred in Philadelphia Cemetery in Prattsville.

Ray Thornton (1928-) was a resident of Prattsville and is the nephew of Jack and Witt Stephens. Thornton is a former U.S. Representative, lawyer, Arkansas Supreme Court justice, university president, and currently is the Public Service Fellow for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Thornton played "a key role in fashioning the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon concerning the Watergate cover-up." Thornton was a party in the Supreme Court of the United States case, U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, that ruled that Arkansas and other states attempts at placing term limits on members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, unconstitutional.