Prentice

 “In the summer of 1882 the Jump River Lumber company was incorporated at Portage, Wis., and consisted of the following gentlemen: A. Prentice, M. T. Alverson, O. D. Van Dusen, C. R. Gallett, L. L. Breese and F. H. Lewis. Early in the fall Messrs. Prentice and Van Dusen came up from Dorchester on the morning passenger with orders from the railroad company to let them off in the morning at the Jump river bridge and stop for them on the way down in the afternoon. They skirmished around all day in the brush and picked out a location for the dam and mill. They brought lunch with them and ate it on the bridge. Later in the fall, Messrs. Gallett, Lewis and Prentice came up on the freight with a carload of lumber from Dorchester. The freight stopped while they threw off the lumber, there being no side-tracks here in those days. They had tools, provisions, carpenters and workmen, and erected on the side of the track a cook shanty, which is the building now used by the Jump River Lumber company as a warehouse. They went to work clearing the site for the mill and built the “boarding house,” which has since been enlarged and improved and is now so ably conducted by Landlord Myers under the name of THE JUMP RIVER HOUSE and which is spoken of by the travelling public as one of the best hotels on the line.”  From: The History of Prentice

To read more about the establishment and history of Prentice, visit the Village of Prentice History Walk.

                         Jump River Hotel                                                   Jump River Store

Also visit the Prentice WI Area History website. The site contains scanned images from the Prentice Centennial Book (1878 - 1978) and Progress Days - 1996. Both contain numerous photographs and historical information of area residents and is searchable by Surname.

       For additional historical information about Prentice's early years, read 1895: A Bit of History

Photos contributed by Dale Heikkinen.

If you have any information you would like to contribute, please contact the County Coordinator.