Prescott is a city in

Pierce County, Wisconsin Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,212. Its county seat is Ellsworth. Pierce County is part of the Minneapolis– St. Paul– Bloomington, MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical ...

, United States, at the confluence of the St. Croix River and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Prescott is at the edge of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. The population was 4,333 at the 2020 census, making it the county's second-largest city after River Falls and the largest entirely within Pierce County. Prescott was home to the mother house of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus. The town was first settled by (and named for) Philander Prescott, who opened a trading post there in 1839.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. Prescott is Wisconsin's westernmost incorporated community, although rural portions of Burnett and

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

Counties are farther west. Along with the rest of Pierce County, Prescott is officially part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, with many Prescott residents commuting to Minneapolis or Saint Paul for employment or education. Prescott is located at (44.751567, -92.793141).

Transportation

Prescott is served by U.S. Highway 10 and Wisconsin Highways 29 and 35. U.S. 10 runs west to the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

and east to the county seat in Ellsworth. WIS 35 runs along Wisconsin's western border. From Prescott, it runs north toward River Falls and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

, though County Road F provides a more direct connection to Hudson. WIS 35 runs south along the

through rural areas to

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

, and provides easy access to

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in and the county seat of Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropo ...

via U.S. 63. WIS 29's western terminus is Prescott. It runs east to River Falls, Menomonie, Chippewa Falls, Wausau, and Green Bay before ending in Kewaunee. Prescott has no scheduled

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

services. The nearest public transportation is in

Cottage Grove, Minnesota Cottage Grove is a city south of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, north of the confluence with the ...

, where Metro Transit offers express buses to Minneapolis and St. Paul on weekdays at rush hour. Due to its location along the confluence of two navigable rivers, Prescott is a major area for private boating, but no scheduled commercial transportation options are available by river.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train service is available in both Red Wing and St. Paul, which are both served by the

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

, running between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The nearest intercity bus service is provided in

Hastings, Minnesota Hastings ( ) is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is near the confluence of the M ...

, by

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

, running between

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and Rochester. Commercial air service is available at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Education

Prescott has four public schools and one

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

. The Prescott School District operates the four public schools: Malone

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(grades K-2), Malone Intermediate School (3-5), Prescott

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(6–8), and Prescott High School (9–12). St. Joseph's School is a private

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

for grades K-6. The Prescott Public Schools'

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

is the

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,258 people, 1,685 households, and 1,152 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,813 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population. There were 1,685 households, of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.4% male and 49.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,764 people, 1,432 households, and 1,006 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,472 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.17%

, 0.21%

, 0.48% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population. There were 1,432 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,598, and the median income for a family was $60,237. Males had a median income of $37,950 versus $27,111 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $22,610. About 1.6% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Alvin Baldus, former member of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Alvin Baldus at Biographical directory of United States Congress
/ref> * Solanus Casey, Roman Catholic priest * Daniel J. Dill, Wisconsin State Representative * Nellie A. Hope, violinist, music teacher, orchestra conductor * Edward H. Ives, Wisconsin State Senator * Elmore Y. Sarles, Governor of North Dakota *

Nick Schommer Nicholas James Schommer (born January 3, 1986) is an American former professional football safety. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football at North Dakota State. College ca ...

, NFL football player * Heidi Swank, member of the Nevada Assembly * Austin H. Young, Wisconsin State Senator

References

External links

City of Prescott
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
18841892189819021912
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Pierce County, Wisconsin Wisconsin populated places on the Mississippi River St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota)