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Pratt, Kansas
U.S. Post Office (2009)
U.S. Post Office (2009)
Location within Pratt County and Kansas
Location within Pratt County and Kansas
KDOT map of Pratt County (legend)
Country United States
State Kansas
County Pratt
Founded 1884
Incorporated 1884
Named for Caleb Pratt
Area
 • Total 7.83 sq mi (20.29 km2)
 • Land 7.71 sq mi (19.97 km2)
 • Water 0.12 sq mi (0.32 km2)
Elevation
1,887 ft (575 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 6,603
 • Density 843.3/sq mi (325.43/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
67124
Area code 620
FIPS code 20-57625
GNIS ID 473937

Pratt is a city in and the county seat of Pratt County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,603. It is home to Pratt Community College.

History

19th century

Pratt was founded in 1884 and named after Caleb S. Pratt, a young Civil War officer from the Kansas Infantry, who was killed in the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri The first post office in Pratt was established in June 1884.

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Herington to Pratt. In 1888, this line was extended to Liberal. Later, it was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. It foreclosed in 1891 and was taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, which merged in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1997, Missouri Pacific merged with Union Pacific. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

20th century

Built in 1930, Hotel Roberts is the largest and most highly styled historic hotel in Pratt. Construction of the hotel was initiated by the Pratt Chamber of Commerce, which formed a committee in the late 1920s specifically to facilitate the construction of a large new hotel. Seen as a potentially valuable asset for the community, the hotel was financed in part through a public subscription campaign, and constructed on land provided by the Chamber. The Pratt Hotel Company owned and operated the hotel and hired Wichita architect Samuel S. Voigt and Kansas City contractor Webster L. Elson to design and build the building. Elson not only supervised the rapid construction of the "fire-proof" building, he was a founding member of the Pratt Hotel Company, and he retained an ownership interest in the property for many years. The community hospital was established on the eighth floor of the building in 1932, complete with an operating room and an x-ray machine. Architecturally, the building is significant as an early and sophisticated example of the Art Deco style in central Kansas. The hotel opened as the Hotel Roberts in 1930, and continued under that name until 1959, when it was purchased by Monte Parrish and renamed the Hotel Parrish. In January 2015 it was listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places for its local significance in the areas of architecture and community planning and development.

The nearby Pratt Army Airfield Base served as the final staging area for B-29 outfitting in 1943-1945.

The Miss Kansas Parade and Pageant are held here.

The state headquarters of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks was constructed southeast of the town.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.49 square miles (19.40 km2), of which 7.37 square miles (19.09 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.31 km2) is water. Pratt is located approximately eighty miles west of Wichita.

Climate

Climate data for Pratt, Kansas (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 44.4
(6.9)
49.8
(9.9)
59.3
(15.2)
69.5
(20.8)
77.6
(25.3)
87.1
(30.6)
92.7
(33.7)
91.6
(33.1)
83.1
(28.4)
70.8
(21.6)
57.0
(13.9)
45.3
(7.4)
69.0
(20.6)
Average low °F (°C) 20.3
(−6.5)
24.2
(−4.3)
32.3
(0.2)
41.8
(5.4)
52.1
(11.2)
61.8
(16.6)
66.3
(19.1)
65.3
(18.5)
56.1
(13.4)
44.2
(6.8)
31.6
(−0.2)
22.2
(−5.4)
43.2
(6.2)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.64
(16)
0.90
(23)
2.30
(58)
2.47
(63)
3.69
(94)
4.23
(107)
3.14
(80)
3.33
(85)
2.39
(61)
2.26
(57)
1.15
(29)
0.93
(24)
27.43
(697)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 4.0
(10)
2.6
(6.6)
4.7
(12)
0.5
(1.3)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.8
(2.0)
3.2
(8.1)
15.8
(40)
Source: NOAA

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 1,418
1900 1,213 −14.5%
1910 3,302 172.2%
1920 5,183 57.0%
1930 6,322 22.0%
1940 6,591 4.3%
1950 7,523 14.1%
1960 8,156 8.4%
1970 6,736 −17.4%
1980 6,885 2.2%
1990 6,687 −2.9%
2000 6,570 −1.7%
2010 6,835 4.0%
2020 6,603 −3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census
2010-2020

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,835 people, 2,837 households, and 1,713 families living in the city. The population density was 927.4 inhabitants per square mile (358.1/km2). There were 3,201 housing units at an average density of 434.3 per square mile (167.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.3% White, 1.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 2.3% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.2% of the population.

There were 2,837 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93.

The median age in the city was 39 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 12% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 19.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

Pratt is served by U.S. Route 54, U.S. Route 400, and U.S. Route 281. It is also served by K-61.

Bus

Bus service is provided daily eastward to Wichita and westward to Pueblo, Colorado by BeeLine Express (subcontractor of Greyhound Lines).

Education

Pratt county kansas courthouse 2009
Pratt County Courthouse (2009)

Colleges

  • Pratt Community College

Public schools

The community is served by Pratt USD 382 and Skyline USD 438 public school districts.

  • Pratt High School (9-12)
  • Liberty Middle School (5-8)
  • Southwest Elementary School (PreK-4)
  • Haskins Elementary School & Bridges to Learning (K-4)
  • Skyline High School (K-12)

Private schools

  • Sacred Heart/Holy Child (PreK-5)
  • Our Savior Lutheran Preschool

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Pratt (Kansas) para niños

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