Prescott, AR - Population 3,296
N 33° 49.771 W 093° 23.642
15S E 463538 N 3743323
Prescott, AR, population 3,296 as of this posting. This sign is located on the west side of AR 19, at the north city limit.
Waymark Code: WMKKKD
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2014
Views: 3
Wikipedia has a capsule history of Prescott: (
visit link)
The city of Prescott was platted in 1873, during construction of the Cairo & Fulton Railroad. The railroad was constructed paralleling the Southwest Trail through northern Nevada County. Prescott was incorporated on October 6, 1874.
The original town site consisted of 48 blocks, 24 on each side of the railroad. The streets were platted in a grid pattern from the railroad line. Streets running east-west use the railroad as a dividing line between their eastern and western halves, and streets running north-south use Main Street as a dividing line between their northern and southern halves.
Prescott grew quickly because the railroad provided a reliable way to transport local products to larger markets. The first post office opened in November 1873, and the first newspaper, 'The Banner', was established in 1875. The Nevada County seat was moved to Prescott in 1877, which contributed to the town’s commercial importance. By the late 1890s, Prescott had its own telephone system and water and light plant.
The timber industry had a large impact on the region’s early economy when in 1890, James H. Bemis & Benjamin Whitaker built the Ozan Lumber Company plant in Prescott. That same year, Dr. R. L. Powers began constructing the Prescott & Northwestern Railroad. It transported lumber, peaches, cotton and other products. It also provided passenger service, connecting adjacent communities to the Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot in Prescott.
There has been some speculation on how Prescott was named, whether it was named after William Hickling Prescott, of Salem, Massachusetts, who was a friend of Thomas Allen and Henry Marquand, (Cairo & Fulton Railroad officials) or from County Surveyor, W. H. Prescott.
Note that the county name is pronounced "nuh-VAY-duh," but in terms of shape it does resemble the shape of the state of Nevada when inverted.