Across Little Elk Lake from the Hansen farm lived another early settler of the lake – Howard B. Pratt. The Pratt farmland was located in Baldwin and Blue Hill townships. The Pratt family owned and operated the Little Elk Lake Pavilion for many years. The Pratt’s had a resort with cottages and boats for rent in addition to the pavilion.
The Little Elk Lake Pavilion was built in 1905 by Howard B. Pratt and George Pratt. The pavilion was located at the southern tip of Elk Lake, just over the Baldwin/Blue Hill line. Charles Pratt, the grandson of Howard and Lucy Pratt, helped his grandparents and mother run the pavilion during the 1920’s and 30’s. Vivian Hansen married Charles Pratt in 1922. Dances at the pavilion around the turn of the century attracted people from around the surrounding countryside. Wagonloads of people often traveled the eight miles from Princeton and stayed until 1 or 2 a.m. returning home the same night. During the 1920’s and 30’s roller-skating was a popular attraction at the pavilion with skating parties during the week and dances on Saturday nights. A new pavilion was built in the early 1930’s and the Pratt’s helped operate this until it was sold in 1942. They lived together on Little Elk Lake for seventy years until Charles’ death in 1922.
(From Historically Speaking – Sherburne County HistoricalSociety Volume 19, Winter 2004)