The Autauga County Heritage Association is a group of people who share a common interest in the history of Autauga County, who strive to create historical interest and educate the community about the benefits of preservation and the significance of our own heritage.

•To bring together those interested in the history and genealogy of Autauga County. •To discover and collect any material which may help to establish or illustrate our history and ancestry. •To provide for the preservation of such material and for its accessibility, as far as may be feasible, to all who wish to examine or study it. •To cooperate with officials in insuring the preservation and accessibility of the records, structures heritage and landmarks of the county and of its people, its towns and communities. •To disseminate historical and genealogical information and arouse interest in the past by organizing groups or societies, by holding meetings and pageants, addresses, lectures, and discussion; by marking historic buildings, sites and trails. •To awaken public interest through use of newspapers, radio, television, internet and social media.

The Daniel Pratt mansion being torn down in 1961 was the impetus of the ACHA forming some years later. It was after more than a decade of regret at having lost forever one of our most treasured of historic homes, the Prattville Study Club, then a group of 50 women, initiated the establishment of a county historical society. In 1976, our nation’s bi-centennial year, the Autauga County Heritage Association’s first president, Evelyn Striplin, was elected from among the 309 charter members of the association.

After four years of persistent pursuit by several Autauga County Historical Association (ACHA) members, the ACHA has obtained engineering drawings, photos, patterns, ledgers, contracts, patents, manuals, advertisement and artifacts related to cotton gin manufacturing in Prattville. The material pertains to entities from the Danial Pratt Gin Manufacturing Company to the Continental Eagle Corporation, including entities acquired along the way. Material potentially dates as far back as 1833 and as recent as 2012, when the facility closed. Engineering drawings are as recent as 1960 as the foreign company, that acquired Continental Eagle Corporation, retained engineering drawings for gins in use at the time of the acquisition.

Information about the Project, access to archived documents, volunteering to work on restoring and archiving additional documents, donating financial or in-kind resources to the Project, and joining the ACHA is available at 102 E Main St, Prattville, AL 36067, 334-361-0961, museum@autaugahistory.org. With readable documentation potentially dating as far back as 1833, the Project will continue well into the foreseeable future. Individual, small groups and organizations looking for a community involvement project are all welcome as volunteers to assist on this important historical project