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–Not graded
History · Prentice

14% of Prentice’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Prentice’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 Prentice are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 939 in 1900; 563 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prentice’s collection

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

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

Prentice, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 939

Peaked at 939 in 1900; 563 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Prentice came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prentice.

Read it all →

The area that would become Prentice was big woods until 1873, when the Wisconsin Central Railroad built its rail line up through the forest, heading from Stevens Point for Ashland. The railroad built stations at regular intervals and the crossing of the Jump River was the right distance from the previous station at Ogema. The railroad initially named its station at that crossing Malden.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Prentice, 1893 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Born hereAlbin C. Bro is born here
  3. 1899Born hereOscar V. Peterson is born here
  4. 1899Post officeThe Pennington post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 939
  7. 1902Born hereDonal Hord is born here
  8. 1908Born hereDennis Morgan is born here
  9. 1914Post officeThe Pennington post office closes
  10. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Prentice, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Prentice Wisconsin looking north on Railroad2023Prentice Wisconsin looking north on RailroadPrentice Wisconsin Main Street2023Prentice Wisconsin Main Street
On the map

Prentice on the map, 1979 to 1980

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

Prentice on the 1979 USGS mapPrentice on the 1980 USGS map1979Big Briens Lake 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 Prentice.

Every building

Prentice, building by building, 1906–1919

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Prentice fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Prentice

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Dennis MorganAmerican actor · b. 1908
Donal HordAmerican artist · b. 1902
Oscar V. PetersonUnited States Navy Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1899
Albin C. BroAmerican academic administrator · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Pennington, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pennington
Gone or out of use
Lone Corner Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

OgemaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHackettIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKnox1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCatawbaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Prentice’s history

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 (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.