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was so large, in fact, that it spawned the town of Prattsville to house its workers. Nearly every achievement and major landmark in Pratt’s life was recorded in stone here, carved into the rock by a local sculptor under his employ. What’s there, you ask? Well, there is a family coat of arms; Pratt’s own bust; various pivotal dates and events; sculpted horses; an arm and hammer, a shrine to his son (killed by Confederate fire in the Civil War); and inscriptions of all sorts. But I found the coolest thing to be the carved out "tomb" that was intended to house Pratt’s carcass for eternity. Word has it that it was found to leak, so Pratt ultimately abandoned the idea. Of course this begs the obvious question: "Why should a few drips matter to a rotting carcass?" But remember, this was a very wealthy man who, by virtue of constructing this stone monument to vanity, had already proved to some (not I!) that his thought processes were—shall we say––just a tad offbeat? |
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