One day when the Pratts’ family physician was at their home, he noticed tiny figures of deer, horses and a cat lined up on a table. They were crafted by the Pratts’ 5 year-old-son, Bela (pronounced Bee-la), who used beeswax filched from his grandmother’s sewing basket as his modeling medium. (Beeswax was commonly used to keep thread from knotting.)

When the good doctor heard this was the work of such a young boy, he exclaimed, “Don’t you realize that child is a genius? He is a born sculptor!” Bela’s mother, Sarah, was so astonished that she recorded her visitor’s comments and watched as over the years these words proved to be prophetic. As an immediate benefit for Bela, from that point forward he could use as much of Grandma’s beeswax as he wanted.

Maybe Sarah wasn’t altogether surprised by her son’s talent because her family was deeply involved in the arts. Sarah’s father, Orramel Whittlesey, had founded Salem’s Music Vale Seminary, the first American school to confer music degrees. The curriculum included lessons in harp, piano, guitar, voice and music theory, and attracted students from all over the country. Orramel also joined his brothers in building pianofortes, while his father, a sternly practical preacher, contributed to the arts by operating a family business cutting piano keys.

In 1858 Sarah married George Pratt, a Norwich lawyer who helped Civil War veterans get their pensions. Bela was about 8 years old when his father died, leaving Sarah to raise him and his four siblings while trying to keep Music Vale operational despite declining enrollment.

Whatever challenges the family faced, Bela was able to enroll in Yale University when he was 16 years old. After graduation he went to New York City where he studied under the renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. After a sojourn in Paris, Bela returned to the United States and taught sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He eventually returned to Connecticut where he purchased the former site of Music Vale.

Bela died in his late 40s, but he’d accomplished a lot in his relatively short life. He created more than 170 works of art that grace prestigious places such as the National Gallery, the Library of Congress, the New Bedford Whaleman’s Museum, Yale University, the Boston Public Library, the Boston Public Garden and the Connecticut State Capital.

Closer to home, Bela’s legacy, and that of his talented family, enriches New London County. His statue of John Winthrop, the Younger, has a commanding presence on Meeting House Hill in New London, and his sculpture of James Avery watches over the Groton site where members of that founding family lived for generations.

Up at the Salem Historical Society there’s a bust of Sarah Pratt sculpted by Bela when his mother was an elderly woman. There you can admire two of the pianofortes that his great uncles built. One of them is in working condition and you can hear how it sounds on a CD available from the Society. At the Antique Carriage and Sleigh Museum in Salem you’ll be charmed by an authentically designed replica of the Bluebird, the horse-drawn Concord Coach that transported students between the Norwich railroad station and the seminary. (Most students came through Norwich because the railroad bridge in New London hadn’t been built yet.)

The Salem Historical Society hopes to convert Orramel’s childhood home into a museum to showcase Music Vale artifacts and to build another museum to honor Bela.

If you prefer nature over museums, you can paddle out to Minnie Island in Gardner Lake, the small state park that was owned by Orramel and which he named for his favorite niece. Orramel even composed an opera celebrating the happy times the family enjoyed there.

Finally, you can drive down Pratt Road in Salem and consider the miracle of life that produces extraordinary talent in lovely but ordinary places.

Carol Sommer of Waterford is a self-proclaimed history nut. She writes a monthly history column inspired by local street signs.