The original town of Prattville was quite the place prior to being displaced by Lake Almanor. Prior to Lake Almanor, it was known as Big Meadows, and a popular summer hang out, especially those from the Sacramento Valley, escaping the heat, after all this is pre-air conditioning days.
In 1898, Frank Sorsoli purchased Baccala’s Prattville Saloon. Business was good. There being a lack of hotel accommodations, Sorsoli decided to build one. In May 1908, construction began on Sorsoli’s $10,000 twenty-eight guest room hotel. But the operation was short-lived. A fire of suspicious origin on July 3, 1909 wiped out most of the town of Prattville, the Sorsoli Hotel was a casualty.