About

Zadock Pratt Museum is located in the 19th century Greek Revival home of Congressman, banker, soldier, and tannery owner Zadock Pratt. The house was built in 1828 and re-designed in 1856. Since 1986 it’s been on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pratt was born on October 30, 1790 in Stephentown, NY, and died on April 5, 1871 in Jersey City, NJ. He has been a folk hero in his home state of New York for almost 200 years. Most know him as the Greene County tanner, but he is so much more than that. Statesman, entrepreneur, innovator, philanthropist, and private citizen, Pratt is one of the most interesting early American figures that time has forgotten. He is the founder of Prattsville, one of America’s earliest planned communities; and national leader, pointing the way to such revered American institutions as the Washington Monument, Smithsonian Institution, and Transcontinental Railroad.

The Zadock Pratt Museum opened to the public in 1959. This year marks its sixtieth anniversary. Its collections and programs are dedicated to Pratt’s interests and long-lasting influence in the area. It is open to the public from May through October.