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History · Prescott

Prescott’s post office opened in 1882, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1950.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Prescott began

When was Prescott founded?

1882

The Prescott post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 281 in 19502020 census: 217144 years
Founding year: the first Prescott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Prescott’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 332 in 1980; 217 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prescott’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prescott’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Prescott, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 332

Peaked at 332 in 1980; 217 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prescott’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Prescott, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Prescott yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Prescott is a village in Ogemaw County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Prescott had a population of 217. The village is located within Richland Township.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 266 to 217 (-18%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Prescott, 1903 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903In the archivePlat map of Prescott, Michigan (1903)
  3. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 332
By decade

Prescott, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Plat map of Prescott, Michigan (1903)1903Plat map of Prescott, Michigan (1903)Map
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Prescott, Michigan post office2021Prescott, Michigan post officePrescott, Michigan (August 2021)2021Prescott, Michigan (August 2021)Prescott, MI road signage2021Prescott, MI road signageMIMap-doton-Prescott2005MIMap-doton-Prescott
On the map

Prescott on the map, 1968 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prescott. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Prescott on the 1968 USGS mapPrescott on the 1984 USGS map1968Prescott sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Prescott.

Questions about Prescott’s history

What year was Prescott founded?

The Prescott post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.