Prescott was home to the mother house of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus.

The town was first settled by (and named for) Philander Prescott, who opened a trading post there in 1839.

[5] Prescott is Wisconsin's westernmost incorporated community, although rural portions of Burnett and Polk counties are further west.

Prescott, along with the rest of Pierce County, is officially a part of the Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, with many Prescott residents commuting to Minneapolis or Saint Paul for employment or education.

U.S. 10 runs west to the Twin Cities and east to the county seat in Ellsworth.

WIS 35 runs south along the Mississippi River through rural areas all the way to La Crosse, although the highway provides easy access to Red Wing, Minnesota via U.S. 63.

The nearest public transportation is in nearby Cottage Grove, Minnesota, where Metro Transit offers express buses to Minneapolis and St. Paul on weekdays at rush hour.

Amtrak train service is available in both Red Wing and St. Paul, which are both served by the Empire Builder, running between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, Oregon.

The nearest intercity bus service is provided in Hastings, Minnesota by Jefferson Lines, running between Minneapolis and Rochester.

Commercial air service is available at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the Twin Cities.