Prescott Area Historical Society

Directions Contact the museum

Prescott Area Historical Society All Photos on this site are copyrighted
Our River Speaker series kicks off May 8th at 7PM

History Center in downtown Prescott, Wisconsin
OPEN Sat. & Sun. 11 to 3
Steamboats, Towboats & River History Exhibit
Showing until fall of 2026
Volunteer Driven!

Captain William "Bill" Bowell was the founder of the St. Paul Paddleford Packet Company in 1969, still in business today...
10/25/2026

Captain William "Bill" Bowell was the founder of the St. Paul Paddleford Packet Company in 1969, still in business today. The Jonathan Paddleford, Anson Northrup, and Betsy Northrup were in his fleet. Over 5 million passengers over the years. Many of the St. Paul Harbor pilots worked for him over the years. Captain Glen Carlson brought a commemorative coin designed by Bowell to help remember the 1965 floods, still the highest in local river history, in for us to share.

From the boom days of the old Steamboat Inn in Prescott. Owner Russ Swanson wrote out a Christmas card and mailed them ...
10/24/2026

From the boom days of the old Steamboat Inn in Prescott. Owner Russ Swanson wrote out a Christmas card and mailed them to all of his employees in 1975. How many businesses do anything like that now. The card was brought to us by Tom Voelker.

The Mississippi Belle from Hastings past. A great restaurant and event site. How many went for weddings, dates, graduat...
10/24/2026

The Mississippi Belle from Hastings past. A great restaurant and event site. How many went for weddings, dates, graduations, Prom, and other occasions. Gone but not forgotten. Bob's music next door and Al Holzemer's shoe store with the great benches.

A gorgeous day in Prescott. This morning we had a collection of River Rats stop in. Old pilots, deckhands, their wives...
10/24/2026

A gorgeous day in Prescott. This morning we had a collection of River Rats stop in. Old pilots, deckhands, their wives, and friends. A couple hundred years of river history holding court and telling stories, most of which are true. We shall be hearing more from these folks in the future. The photo is of the MV Itasca, the hardest working harbor boat in the Twin Cities. A beautiful night shot. The photo comes from Captain Steve Plan.

This coming Saturday, October 24th, Al and his staff at Scab's are hosting a meat rafflle with the proceeds donated to P...
10/21/2026

This coming Saturday, October 24th, Al and his staff at Scab's are hosting a meat rafflle with the proceeds donated to PAHS. Stop down to visit and help keep PAHS going. Start time is 3 PM.

The two photos are of the building under two different owners. One is Stingee and Rose Starks establishment, with Stingee behind the bar. The other is unknown but earlier.

A Costume Party? Yes, in Prescott November 7th from 6 to 9PM. Costume balls during Prescott's past were often the most...
10/19/2026

A Costume Party? Yes, in Prescott November 7th from 6 to 9PM. Costume balls during Prescott's past were often the most anticipated event of the year. There were many dance halls and presentation rooms during our history.

The building that houses the Twisted Oak and Corner Italian had a third floor ball room until fire destroyed the top floor. What used to be the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall on the old Steamboat Inn lot was an opera house. The Dudley building that burned in 1982 had two large rooms on the upper floor for events. Where the No Name Saloon is now had a large room on the top floor for dances and a Roller Rink. Several buildings on our river front had event halls.

Our event is free for all. It is a donation based fund raiser for the Prescott Area Historical Society. Keeping our buildings open, repaired, and current takes a lot of work, and money. All our members are volunteers helping to preserve Prescott's fascinating history. Snacks and appetizers will be provided, along with various drinks. There will be live music from 6:30 to 7:15 by local musicians.

Any costume will do or come as you are. Come out to meet your friends, meet new ones, and enjoy their company.

So again November 7th at 6 PM will be our modern Costume Ball. We hope you will join us.

Last Friday night, October 16th, we packed the house again. Nancy Earhart Burt did a wonderful job of presenting her co...
10/19/2026

Last Friday night, October 16th, we packed the house again. Nancy Earhart Burt did a wonderful job of presenting her cousin, Amelia Earhart. Her life, her education, her goals, and achievements were fascinating. Thanks to those of you who have supported our speaker series for this year. We are working on next year's schedule.

...a little theater, a little history...from a real-life relative! Can't get much better!!! Nancy Earhart Burt joins u...
10/08/2026

...a little theater, a little history...from a real-life relative! Can't get much better!!! Nancy Earhart Burt joins us Friday Night October 16th at 7 PM Our last speaker for this season. Thanks to all of you who have supported us all summer!

Thanks to Patricia Peterson for bringing a wonderful aerial photo from the past of the North part of Prescott. My guess ...
10/08/2026

Thanks to Patricia Peterson for bringing a wonderful aerial photo from the past of the North part of Prescott. My guess is about 1960 (help me any of you Reis family members, somebodies in your driveway). The anchor in the middle of the photo is Reis' Greenhouse. I believe it is Wagner's across the street.

In the foreground is Pearl Street. Don Barnum bought AAA Mobile Homes and moved it to their present locations. He had a trailer sales office in downtown where Lucille's used to be. Not much in the rest of it. The little tri-cornered park where 29 and 10 meet is there with its lonely cottonwood and a picnic table. Just below it you can see an old Jacques Seed sign.

Can anyone chime in? I have included the unedited photo and one with some anchor points identified.

The dry run called Pine Coulee has been part of Prescott's history for well over a century. The Magee family had a park ...
10/07/2026

The dry run called Pine Coulee has been part of Prescott's history for well over a century. The Magee family had a park there that was used by hundreds, thanks. A backstop, barbeque pit, shelter, and out house were all part of it. There was a shooting range also for a bit. The local kids spent days trapsing up and down the dry run and climbing the huge sand hill to jump off the top.

Now another dream has become a reality. The Magee Park Bike Trail is open. Wow, wonderful. The volunteers who put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours are to be congratulated.

If you have not stopped in, please do for a beautiful walk in the woods or bike ride. The rest of the dream is to hook the Coulee Trails to Magee Park, who knows?

The stories of Pine Coulee would fill volumes is my bet.

Address

235 Broad Street
Prescott, WI
54021

Opening Hours

Saturday 10am - 2pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Prescott Area Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Prescott Area Historical Society:

Shortcuts

Share

Category