Prairie Lake is a town in Barron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,532 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Wickware is located partially in the town.GeographyThe town of Prairie Lake is located southeast of the center of Barron County. Its namesake lake runs from northwest to southeast across the northeast corner of the town and extends north into the town of Stanley and southeast into the city of Chetek, where it becomes Lake Chetek. The Red Cedar River, a tributary of the Chippewa River, flows across the center of the town roughly parallel to and 2mi west of Prairie Lake.U.S. Route 53, a four-lane expressway, crosses the town from northwest to southeast on land that is between the lake and the Red Cedar River. There are no exits within the town; the nearest access points are Exit 126 in Chetek and Exit 135 in Cameron.According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 90.5sqkm, of which 85.9sqkm is land and 4.6sqkm, or 5.11%, is water.DemographicsAs of the census of 2000, there were 1,369 people, 528 households, and 412 families residing in the town. The population density was 41.3 people per square mile (16.0/km²). There were 739 housing units at an average density of 22.3 per square mile (8.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.27% White, 0.22% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.44% of the population.
