Prentice Village History Walk

Prentice exists because two railroads crossed here. The Wisconsin Central Railroad built through the forest in 1873, heading from Stevens Point to Ashland, and the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway came through in 1893, crossing the first line at the south end of town. Everything built after that, from the lumber mill to the tannery to the commercial district, exists because of that junction.

The Village History Walk covers 17 landmarks from that era. It starts at the old depot area, winds through the commercial district on Railroad Avenue and Main Street, and ends near the tannery site, with plaques explaining what stood where. The Jump River Lumber Company sawed 100,000 feet of lumber per day at its peak, and Fayette Shaw's tannery produced 200,000 hides of sole leather annually, making it the second largest of its kind in the United States before it burned twice in 1906.

The whole walk takes under an hour. No app or reservation is needed.

Source: Price County Fun.