Preston, Minnesota
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Preston City. It lies in ZIP code area 55965. It stands on Willow Creek. The Survey maps it on the Preston quadrangle. 1,322 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 958 feet above sea level.
On record in Preston
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 6 records
Fillmore County Jail and Carriage Houselisted 1982
Forestville Townsite-Meighan Storelisted 1973
Milwaukee Elevatorlisted 2006
Preston Brewerylisted 1982
Preston Overlooklisted 2003- William Strong Houselisted 1982
Population over time
2 figuresPreston fell from 1,325 to 1,322 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,325 | |
| 2020 | 1,322 | -3 (-0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1954 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Preston quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Austin quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
15 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Preston between 1994 and 2017, burning about 46 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 July 2001 | Smoking | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 May 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 April 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 April 1994 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 17 April 2010 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 14 April 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Preston: 5 producers, 1 occurrence. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fillmore County Sand Deposit | Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Hungerholt Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Larson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Rissman Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Ruen Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Wendt Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
29 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Preston in 29 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 12 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain, 2 flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Preston | $275,000 | This was the second tornado of the night in Fillmore County. This narrow EF0 tornado moved across the eastern and northern parts of Preston. Houses, sheds, cars and trees were damaged along the path. The roofs of the fire department and city hall were both damaged. |
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Preston | $230,000 | This was the third tornado of the night in Fillmore County. This EF1 tornado developed northeast of Preston and moved northeast for about 2 miles before dissipating. Farm outbuildings and trees were damaged along the path. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $20,000 | Dozens of trees were blown down in Preston and a few buildings sustained minor damage. A large building under construction on the north side of town collapsed. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Preston | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $18,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $15,000 | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $10,000 | Trees were blown down in Preston that also took down power lines. |
| May 2006 | Flash Flood | Preston | $1,500 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Preston | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $750 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | $250 | no account filed |
| March 2025 | Hail | Preston | - | Local media reported ping pong ball sized hail in Preston, Minnesota. |
| March 2025 | Hail | Preston | - | The public reported half dollar sized hail in Preston, Minnesota. The report was relayed by local media. |
| August 2014 | Hail | Preston | - | Nickel sized hail fell in Preston. The power was also knocked out, but the cause was not known. |
| May 2013 | Flood | Preston | - | Runoff from heavy rains pushed the South Branch of the Root River out of its banks in Preston. The river crested just over a foot above the flood stage at 938.07 feet. |
| June 2013 | Flood | Preston | - | Runoff from heavy rain pushed the South Branch of the Root River out of its banks in Preston. The river crested around a half foot over flood stage at 937.61 feet. |
| April 2013 | Heavy Rain | Preston | - | The COOP observer near Preston reported 2.3 inches of rain. |
| October 2013 | Heavy Rain | Preston | - | In almost a six hour period, 5.85 inches of rain fell in Preston. |
| September 2010 | Heavy Rain | Preston | - | The storm total rainfall was 4.56 inches. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | - | Several large trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| March 2005 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Preston | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Preston | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isinours | 3.1 miles | 7 | |
| Carimona | 4.0 miles | 8 | |
| Hutton | 4.3 miles | 8 | |
| Fountain | 5.6 miles | 8 | |
| Lanesboro | 6.6 miles | 9 | |
| Forestville | 7.2 miles | 8 | |
| Big Spring | 7.3 miles | 8 | |
| Harmony | 8.8 miles | 8 |
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 Preston | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1916489 | The 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 649730. 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.




