Prairie City, a town-plat and station on the Brazil branch of the Evansville & Indianapolis Railroad, in Jackson township, six miles south of Brazil, originally laid out a little distance north of the present site, on the Upper Bloomington road, about half way between the old Birch Creek crossing and Mt. Olivet, by Absalom B. Wheeler, in the year 1869, and so named from its location on the border of what has long been known as Wheeler’s Prairie, or Clay Prairie. But few of the lots platted by Wheeler were ever sold and improved. The change in the public road from the Zenor cemetery westward from its former course to the line between the Wheeler and Gibbons farms had the effect to transplant the hamlet, which is now on the Allen Gibbons addition. A store has been maintained here ever since this change was made. The first merchant was Sylvester Grable, with whom was associated Wilford Beatty, who were succeeded by Wilson & McNutt, William J. Hooker, Charles Benell, Edward Osborn, W. J. Redenbacher, E. L. Bolin, Ora Gibbons, John A. Trout, John Redenbacher & Son.

A postoffice was established here in 1888 and Sylvester Grable appointed postmaster, succeeded by Lewis McNutt, on whose retirement Mary N. Trout was appointed, June 10, 1895, whose term of service extended to the first of March, 1902, when the office was discontinued and supplanted by rural route No. 2 from Brazil, later by route No. 4 from Center Point. The only physician was Dr. Charles Benell, and the only mechanics, Delaney Short and John Bobo, blacksmiths. However, Garner Bobo had previously maintained a “smithy” at the old road crossing on the original site. Prairie City was not without a saloon, which was run one year by Thomas McCullough.