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History · Prentice

Prentice’s post office opened in 1882, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Prentice Co-operative Creamery Company and the Prentice Boy Scout Cabin.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Prentice began

When was Prentice founded?

1882

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

2020 census: 563144 years
Founding year: the first Prentice post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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.
★ 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.
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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, 1882 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Prentice post office opens
  3. 1893Born hereAlbin C. Bro is born here
  4. 1899Born hereOscar V. Peterson is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Born hereDonal Hord is born here
  7. 1906BuiltPrentice Co-operative Creamery Company is built
  8. 1908Born hereDennis Morgan is born here
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 National Register

2 historic places in Prentice

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Prentice Co-operative Creamery Company
Prentice Co-operative Creamery Company, built 1906Prentice Boy Scout Cabin
Buildings
Prentice Co-operative Creamery CompanyBuilt 1906
All 2 listings
Prentice Boy Scout CabinBuilding · listed 2017

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

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

Questions about Prentice’s history

What year was Prentice founded?

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

What is on the National Register in Prentice?

Two places: the Prentice Co-operative Creamery Company (listed 1985) and the Prentice Boy Scout Cabin (2017).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.