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History · Prescott

Prescott’s post office opened in 1881, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Publichall · Public domain
Quick answers

How Prescott began

When was Prescott founded?

1881

The Prescott post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 372145 years
Founding year: the first Prescott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 writtenNo old photos of Prescott are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Prescott’s homes were built before 1960.
★ 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Prescott came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prescott.

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A post office called Prescott has been in operation since 1881. The city was named after C.H. Prescott, a railroad official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Prescott in 1901

Passages that mention Prescott, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Prescott was founded in the year 1882, at the time of the extension of the O. R. & N. Railroad from Walla Walla northward. It v.as founded on land owned partly by Charles Buck, and partly by Mr. Eleanor. The town site was first occupied by Rev. H. H. Spalding ill 1859. There he lived until 1862, wh…
An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington1901 · page 143Read the page →
Read the text

Prescott was founded in the year 1882, at the time of the extension of the O. R. & N. Railroad from Walla Walla northward. It v.as founded on land owned partly by Charles Buck, and partly by Mr. Eleanor. The town site was first occupied by Rev. H. H. Spalding ill 1859. There he lived until 1862, when he went as Indian agent to Lapwai. The most

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and took a homestead. The next year, however, he returned to Prescott, rented land and engaged in farming, an occupation which he has ever since followed. In 1898, he purchased a fine tract of 494 acres, two and a half miles northeast of Prescott, where his home now is.
An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington1901 · page 420Read the page →
Read the text

and took a homestead. The next year, however, he returned to Prescott, rented land and engaged in farming, an occupation which he has ever since followed. In 1898, he purchased a fine tract of 494 acres, two and a half miles northeast of Prescott, where his home now is.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Prescott, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Prescott, WA - Sherry Building2006Prescott, WA - Sherry BuildingPrescott, WA - Odd Fellows Building2006Prescott, WA - Odd Fellows BuildingPrescott, WA - Motor Inn Garage2006Prescott, WA - Motor Inn GaragePrescott, WA - Knights of Pythias Building2006Prescott, WA - Knights of Pythias BuildingPrescott, WA - Former post office2006Prescott, WA - Former post officeWAMap-doton-Prescott2004WAMap-doton-Prescott

Questions about Prescott’s history

What year was Prescott founded?

The Prescott post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

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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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.