Prairie Center, a village in the western part of Johnson county, received the name because it was located on a prairie about equidistant from four towns in the center of a prairie. The first settlement was made in 1871 and in February of the following year the postoffice was established with David Vestal as the first postmaster. He had opened the first store the previous year. The first school house was built in 1874 and the Friends built a church. Both the Methodists and Free Methodists also built churches within a short time. The postoffice was discontinued when the rural delivery system was established, and Prairie Center now has free delivery from Eudora, 7 miles northwest. In 1910 the population was 70.