Henry Carl Prange was the son of farmers who had immigrated to Wisconsin from Germany following the Revolutions of 1848.

In 1876, he began working at John Plath's general store in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as a clerk, janitor, and delivery boy.

Over the years more acquisitions were made by the H.C. Prange Company, and existing stores underwent continuous improvement to keep abreast of the times.

[1] At its peak, the H. C. Prange Co. had 25 stores, 18 in Wisconsin, five in Michigan, and two in Illinois, with a total of about 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m2) of retail space.

Eventually Younkers would become a part of Saks "northern group" which later enveloped longtime Prange's competitors Boston Store, and Herberger's under the same corporate ownership.

The 1984 building was torn down beginning in January 2015 over a two-month period, and was used as an open field for a series of concerts that summer before construction began on a new apartment development intended to spur the filling of professional jobs in the area.

The Prange Way chain later evolved into a discount department store, with several locations throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.

Two of their first major discount stores called Prange Way opened between 1965 and 1966 in the cities of Appleton and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.