Prattsville bounced back after 2011’s Hurricane Irene
Almost 200 years after its founding, the town of Prattsville was nearly destroyed in 2011. Hurricane Irene caused the Schoharie Creek to overflow and flood Prattsville’s Main Street. Every structure on Main Street suffered serious damage, but that’s not evident when cruising through the center of town today. Church congregations, government agencies and volunteers helped repair or rebuild houses, and lampposts, picket fences and century-old homes line the street, with the Catskill Mountains rising beyond them. “When we had Hurricane Irene, it wiped Prattsville off the map,” says Carol Shaw, broker and owner of Shaw Country Realty and a resident of nearby Windham. “They’ve rebuilt the town, and it’s charming.” After years of work by locals, Prattsville is back to being a compact town on the Schoharie Creek, surrounded by the recreation of the Catskills. The wide creek is almost like a small river, and the mountains are busy with cyclists and hikers even when they're blanketed with snow, providing year-round recreation for locals.
Cabins surrounded by woods and creekside homes
Homes are concentrated along New York state Route 23, with Colonial Revivals dotting the section of the highway called Main Street and ranch-style houses found outside of downtown. Many homes stand near Schoharie Creek, which is surrounded by flood zones, so homebuyers in these areas may need to purchase flood insurance. On the north and south ends of Prattsville, secluded cabins and farmhouses on spacious lots sometimes come with mountain views. Prices typically range from $185,000 to $380,000, though homes on more than 5 acres can cost up to $635,000. The community's CAP Index Crime Score is 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
All K-12 students can attend Gilboa-Conesville Central School
Less than 5 miles north of Prattsville, Gilboa-Conesville Central School handles every grade level for the district. In 2024, voters approved a $7.9 million project that’ll update the campus, including upgrading the gym and adding ADA-compliant infrastructure, without raising taxes for locals. Niche gives the school a C-minus.
Food, art and history along Main Street
Most of Prattsville’s businesses are clustered along a quarter-mile stretch of Main Street. Prattsville Diner, one of two restaurants in town, serves breakfast and lunch, closing in the afternoon as Prattsville Tavern turns on its neon beer signs and begins serving drinks and dinner. A Greek Revival home once inhabited by town founder Zadock Pratt was turned into the Zadock Pratt Museum, which explores his life and the history of the western Catskills region. A block away, the Prattsville Art Center & Residency hosts classes, serves as a coworking space and offers residencies to artists. Artists and tradespeople rehabilitated the center after it was nearly destroyed in the 2011 flood.Great American is the community supermarket, and Young’s Ace Hardware and Lumber is across the street. Prattsville Reformed Church and Discover Life Church bookend the commercial strip. To shop at Walmart, Price Chopper or other retail chains, locals have to drive 40 miles to the village of Catskill.
Hikes to ‘New York’s Mount Rushmore’ and fun at Bearpen Mountain
One of the community’s most distinct landmarks overlooks the town from a rocky hillside. There, the likeness of Zadock Pratt was sculpted from a rock face, along with carvings that include the Pratt family coat of arms and a bust of Pratt’s son George, who died fighting in the Civil War. Pratt, a successful tanner and a U.S. Congressman, commissioned the carvings in the 1800s, and though they were derided as “a monument to vanity” by some, later they were called “New York’s Mount Rushmore” by others. Either way, hikers can make a steep 3-mile round-trip climb to come face-to-face with Pratt’s stone bust. The town is overhauling Pratt Rock Park, and locals have donated thousands of dollars to the project, which is meant to ward off erosion and make the trail more hiker-friendly. There are other scenic hikes around the community; for example, trails lead to four waterfalls along Huntersfield Creek.Meanwhile, Mountain Valley Little League plays softball games at Everett Conine Memorial Field, a public park along the Schoharie Creek. The section of the creek flowing past the park is open to the public for trout fishing. The area averages nearly 5 feet of snow per year, but that opens up more recreation opportunities rather than limiting them. Nearby Bearpen Mountain has snow-tubing hills, fat-tire biking trails and other snow-friendly activities. “It’s a winter festival,” Shaw says. “There’s a little lodge with ice skating, snowshoeing. It’s a great place for families.”
More than 30 minutes from I-87 and over an hour from Albany
New York state Route 23 winds through the Catskills, connecting to shops and restaurants in towns such as Stamford and Windham. It’s about 25 miles to Margaretville Hospital, the closest medical center. An on-ramp to Interstate 87 is 35 miles east of Prattsville; drivers can use the highway to travel 30 miles north to Albany or 120 miles south to New York City. Passengers can fly nonstop to more than 20 destinations from Albany International Airport.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
