Editing Prattsville, Arkansas (section)

== History ==

Prattsville, then part of [[Saline County, Arkansas|Saline County]], was first settled by Elder Joab Pratt, a Baptist preacher, accompanied by several other families, with the surnames of Mayfield, Pumphrey, McDaniel, and Cobb, all arrived by wagon train from Bibb County, Alabama in 1841. Mr. Pratt is the source of the town's name. Mr. Pratt operated Pratt's Ferry close to where modern day Highway 270 crosses the [[Saline River (Ouachita River)|Saline River]] and served as the postmaster for Lost Creek Post Office in 1846.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Crowson|first=Robert L.|title=From Alabama to Arkansas An 1841 Journey|journal=Grassroots Journal of the Grant County Museum|date=July 1988|url=http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ARGRANT/1999-12/0945449829|access-date=June 3, 2012}}]</ref> Mr. Pratt founded Philadelphia Baptist Church soon after settling in the area south of the modern day city limits.

A section of the pre-statehood wagon road, the Old Camden Trail, was a highly traveled road throughout the nineteenth century that connected Little Rock and [[Camden, Arkansas|Camden]]. The Old Camden Trail was one of only five main roads in Arkansas during the 1800s and served early settlers of Prattsville. It is still marked on current maps in the town and has a historical marker north of Prattsville in the pioneer [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cramsey/Old_Belfast_Pioneers.html Village of Belfast], unfortunately the historic road has been gated and access to the marker blocked.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=771 |title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> During the Civil War, as part of Gen. [[Frederick Steele]]'s Camden expedition, part of the larger Red River Campaign, attempted to cross the Saline River at Pratt's Ferry with his troops to get his nearly supply-less Union Army back to Little Rock along the Old Camden Road, however the water there was too high, and Gen. Steele and his troops turned south to cross at Jenkins Ferry, where his Union Army were engaged by Confederate Troops in what is called the [[Battle of Jenkins Ferry]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3812 | title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> Gen. Steele's Camden expedition cost the Union army countless men and badly needed supplies.<ref>Arkansas History Commission,  "Documenting Arkansas: The Civil War 1861-1865," pg. 78-83. (2012)</ref> Gen. Steele and the Union Army escaped and made a retreat back to Little Rock along the Old Camden Trail.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1136 |title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lancaster|first=Jim|title=Crossing Saline River at Jenkin's Ferry|url=http://www.argenweb.net/grant/crossing.at.jenkins.ferry.html|access-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>