In 1890 the Lincoln Board of Education decided to name the 20th and Cherry School, Prescott, in honor of the renowned American historian William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859), author of ‘The History of the Conquest of Mexico‘ and other histories.
Over the years it has been reported that the school was named for William W. Prescott, the first president of Union College. Although W. W. Prescott was important to the establishment of Union in 1891, he was president in name only. Actually, he was the president of three Adventist colleges at the same time and spent little time in Lincoln until he actually served as Union’s president in 1924-1925. We can find no documentation that would indicate the board ever changed the 1890 name designation from W.H. to W. W. Prescott.
