Prattville of today is the part of Chelsea that lies north of the Revere Beach Parkway.
The first owner of Prattville was Sir Henry Vane when on January 8, 1637, the town of Boston allotted to Sir Henry Vane a tract of 200 acres of land in the part of Rumney Marsh now known as Prattville. Shortly after receiving the grant of land Sir Henry Vane sold the land to a Mr. William Brampton. In 1639 Brampton sold the land to a Nicolas Parker of Boston who was a merchant. Nicholas Parker then sold 160 acres to George Burden of Boston and on February 12, 1651 sold the same to Aaron Way and William Ireland for 230 pounds. From the ownership of Way and Ireland this land came into the possesion of the Pratt family in 1695 for 830 pounds.
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The original deed of the Pratt farm describes the estate as beginning at the northeast corner of the Carter Farm, a point near the junction of County Road and Washington Avenue today, running westerly to the Malden, now Everett line; thence northerly along that line, but going westerly at same point so as to include thirty-five acres in Everett before reaching the Revere line, continuing to the Newgate Farm, then easterly across the top of Fenno Hill to the marsh, then southeasterly across it to Chelsea Creek; thence westerly by the Creek, at the foot of Powderhorn Hill, to the beginning. |
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The boundaries include besides the Prattville of today, a part of the Fenno Farm and the Cheever Farm in Revere, Revere Highlands and Woodlawn Cemetery. They also include the site of " The Battle of Chelsea Creek" (the first Naval Battle of the Revolution) ; the site of the first Tide Water Mill, and Sagamore Hill now called Mt. Washington, where the present Whidden Hospital is located.
Besides this property the Pratt estate included forty acres in Malden near " Black Ann's Corner " referred to as the wood lots, marsh land, now part of the Lynn marshes, and a large tract of land at Pullen Point, now Winthrop, which included Point Shirley.
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This 1905 photograph is of Prattville as seen from the top of Powderhorn Hill. On the left is Mt. Washington where the Whidden Hospital stands today. The street in the center is Lambert ave. The rear of the new Prattville School is seen with Engleside Avenue on its right and a glimpse of Murray Street on its left. The street on the far right is Garfield Ave., just recently constructed. |
Prattville has an interesting and historical background. Few places of its size can point to more historical first things than can this little settlement. Samuel Maverick settled in Winnisimmet in 1624, at the mouth of the Mystic River, two miles from Prattville. The area was nearly isolated by the marshes that ran to the southern slopes of Powderhom Hill, except for a narrow strip of land leading to what is now Cary Square. Over a trail, which by necessity must have followed closely what is now Washington Avenue, the Sagamore Indians would pass to Maverick's Trading Post to sell their furs. This mild and friendly tribe inhabited Prattville when the English first arrived, and used it for hunting and fishing. As late as the early 20th century it was still a common thing to find Indian mounds and Indian relics in parts of Prattville. It is impossible to locate exactly the haunts of the Indians. Their rude cultivation of the soil was subordinated to hunting and fishing.
As early as 1641 and until 1855 Mount Washington in Chelsea and Everett was known as Sagamore Hill; a name as it implies that on, or near it, the Indians of that name had one of their villages. Many years ago, Isaac Pratt, then in his eighty-third year, said he thought their principal abode was not far from his house in the pleasant valley which slopes gently to the sun from Woodlawn to the foot of Mount Washington, or Sagamore Hill. He had found the remains of an old fort near the brook, beside which he had dug up clam shells, mortars, pestles, axes and other Indian implements. Besides this fort, there were marks of two others: one on the top of Fenno Hill, and the other on Powderhorn Hill.
As has been the history of the Indian, he was no match physically or mentally for the English. The traditional story of Powderhorn Hill being exchanged for a horn of powder is an illustration as to their weakness as traders. Partial civilization brought smallpox and consumption, and by 1700 the Sagamore Indians had practically passed out of existence. The Sagamores willingly traded away their lands, but they never took kindly to being excluded from them afterwards. Little trouble was experienced, however, during the life of John and James Sagamore, but upon their deaths the succession passed to their brother George. Sagamore George made trouble for the landowners in Rumney Marsh and Prattville. For more than ten years, sometimes by suit in the inferior courts, and at other times by petitions to the General Court, he claimed the lands were unjustly taken from him. Finally, on May 19, 1669 the General Court dropped all his claims.
In 1641 the Country Road was built from the ferry in Winnisimmet through Prattville to Salem. This road did much to help develop Prattville. This substantial and prosperous community has developed gradually in the past few hundred years on what, in1695, was the farm of Thomas Pratt.
Today, there is the Old Prattville School, which is now condiminiums. Two pizza places, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and a number of small markets and other stores and shops. It has a Catholic Church, a Protestant Church, its own Fire Station, Washington Park, and several thousand inhabitants.
Scenes of Prattville - Yesterday and Today
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These two comparative photographs show Washington Square in the heart
of Prattville over a span of 93 years. |
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The buildings on the right housed the W. A. Perkins Druggist. The
small rectangular building in the distance was Sam Sarcias Shoe Repair. |
The building that is on the right during the 1950's and 1960's was the Prattville Pharmacy. In the 1970's, it was torn down to construct the Metropolitan Credit Union. Today it is a pizza parlor and a donut shop. |
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This second set of comparative photographs show Washington Avenue northward toward Washington Square. The left photo is from 1962. The Prattville Pharmacy, left, at the corner of Hancock Street and the Sagamore Pharmacy, right, at the corner of Sagamore Avenue. The photo on the right is from 2006 and shows the Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Lovers, left, and the Prattville Pizza, right, at the corner of Sagamore Avenue. |
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These two photos are of Washington Square at the junction of Nichols Street and Eustis Street. The left photo is from the early 1900's and shows the Old Ladies Home which opened on January 1, 1887. The photo on the right was taken in 2006 from the same location. The Old Ladies Home is now a fire insurance firm and a private residence. |
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This photo from 1960 shows the shopping plaza at the corner of Washington Avenue and the Revere Beach Parkway. Robert Halls Clothes, a 5 & 10, a pizza restaurant and other small stores were in business until the 1970's when the plaza was destroyed by fire. |
This 2006 photo taken from approximately the same location shows an office building complex, partially hidden by trees, now occupies the original shopping plaza site. |
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These two photos of Washington Park in Prattville were taken at the corner of Washington Avenue and Sagamore Avenue. The photo on the left is from the year 1907 while the right photo is from 2001. |
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Nichols Street looking toward Everett. The left photo is from 1910 when Nichols Street, originally Warren Ave., was a dirt road. On the left is Washington Park and on the right is the Hermon W. Pratt home. The right photo is from the same location in 2006. The Hermon W. Pratt home, obscured by trees, was sold to Our Lady of Grace Parish and converted into a convent. Today it is the Don Guanella Home, run by the Sisters of Mary of the Divine Providence. |
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Washington Ave. at the intersection of the Revere Beach Parkway looking toward Washington Square in Prattville. (Photo: July 2006)
Washington Square, Prattville, (Lyons Square), looking down from Eustis Street. Washington Park on the right. (Photo: July 2006)