Pratum
Unincorporated community
Pratum as seen from Howell Prairie Road
Pratum as seen from Howell Prairie Road
Pratum is located in Oregon
Pratum
Pratum
Location within the state of Oregon
Pratum is located in the United States
Pratum
Pratum
Pratum (the United States)
Coordinates: 44°57′32″N 122°52′43″W / 44.95889°N 122.87861°W / 44.95889; -122.87861
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyMarion
Elevation
[1]
230 ft (70 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97305
Area code(s)503 and 971
GNIS feature ID1166698[1]

Pratum is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is located northeast of Salem on Howell Prairie near the Pudding River. Pratum is Latin for "meadow".[2] The community was settled in the late 19th century by a group of Mennonites, many of them of Swiss extraction.[3][4] A branch of the narrow-gauge Oregonian Railway was built through the area in about 1880, and the station there was called "East Side Junction".[2] The railway was eventually converted to standard gauge, and is still in use today by the Willamette Valley Railway. In 1895, the station was renamed "Enger" by a Mr. Larson, who opened the first store there. "Enger" was confused with Eugene, however, and the name of the station changed to "Pratum" in 1898.[2] Pratum post office was established in 1887, and was originally called "Switzerland", then "Enger" and finally "Pratum" in 1898, matching the railroad station.[2] The post office ran until 1964.[2] Pratum Elementary School, was built in 1928 and is part of the Silver Falls School District, and is still operating.[5]

The community is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pratum grain elevator.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pratum, Oregon
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 783. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ↑ Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online: Oregon (State)
  4. ↑ Salem Online History
  5. ↑ Silverton Chamber of Commerce Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
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