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Preston, Iowa

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Van Buren Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52069. It stands on South Copper Creek. The Survey maps it on the Preston quadrangle. 949 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 646 feet above sea level.

Preston within Jackson County

Population over time

2 figures

Preston fell from 1,012 to 949 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,012
2020949-63 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

4 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Preston between 2003 and 2014, burning about 152 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined100 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 March 2014Debris and open burning2.5 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 January 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Preston: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Indian MinesLeadPast ProducerGalena
Marvin QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Preston QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnknownLeadPast Producer

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

15 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Preston in 15 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flood, 1 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2003Thunderstorm WindPreston$10,000Trees down;lasted 15 minutes
June 2000Thunderstorm WindPreston$10,000no account filed
April 1996Tornado (F0)Preston$10,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindPreston$5,000Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down a 12 inch diameter tree limb onto a house in Preston, IA at 1:35 pm June 12.
April 2026Tornado (EF1)Preston-An NWS Storm Damage Survey Team confirmed an EF1 tornado with peak winds of 105 mph and maximum estimated width of 250 yards. Damage included over ten snapped power poles, over ten outbuildings and sheds destroyed, numerous homes with shingle damage, and many trees with large sections snapped. This tornado path began in Clinton County, Iowa.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPreston-Tree limbs blown down on Highway 64. Time estimated by radar.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindPreston-A trained spotter reported estimated winds of 50 to 60 mph.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindPreston-Wind gusts were measured at 75 mph in Preston, IA at 724 pm CDT June 18.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindPreston-Wind gusts estimated to be 75 mph blew down several trees between Preston, IA and Highway 52 around 800 pm July 24.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindPreston-A spotter reported estimated 48 to 52 knot (55 to 60 mph) winds.
July 1999FloodPreston-Slow-moving thunderstorms produced four to five inches of rainfall, which flooded streets and ditches in Preston.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed
May 2002HailPreston-no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Spragueville1.9 miles13
Van Buren3.5 miles13
Rockaway (historical)3.6 miles13
Miles5.2 miles13
Reeceville8.1 miles15
Springbrook8.5 miles13
Green Island8.6 miles15
Sterling8.7 miles13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on PrestonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1926420The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 460442. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.