Pratum, Oregon

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".[1] The community was settled in the late 19th century by a group of Mennonites, many of them of Swiss extraction.[2][3] 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".[1] 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.[1] Pratum post office was established in 1887, and was originally called "Switzerland", then "Enger" and finally "Pratum" in 1898, matching the railroad station.[1] The post office ran until 1964.[1] Pratum School, built in 1928 and part of the Silver Falls School District, is still operating.[4]

Pratum
Unincorporated community
Pratum as seen from Howell Prairie Road
Pratum
Location within the state of Oregon
Pratum
Pratum (the United States)
Coordinates: 44°57′33″N 122°52′39″W
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyMarion
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97305
Area code(s)503 and 971

The community is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pratum grain elevator.

References
  1. 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.
  2. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online: Oregon (State)
  3. Salem Online History
  4. Silverton Chamber of Commerce Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
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