| Pratum | |
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| — Unincorporated community — | |
| Pratum as seen from Howell Prairie Road | |
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Pratum
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Marion |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 97305 |
| Area code(s) | 503 and 971 |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | |
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]
The community is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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