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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.

Preston within Fillmore County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Preston 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,325
20201,322-3 (-0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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

15 since 1994

Regional 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 burning5
Smoking3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Arson/incendiarism1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
1 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 July 2001Smokingunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 May 2003Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 April 2001Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 April 1994Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 April 2010Smoking1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 April 2000Debris and open burning1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fillmore County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Fillmore County Sand DepositSilicaOccurrence
Hungerholt PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Larson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Rissman QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Ruen QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wendt QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Fillmore County

Storms near this place

29 since 1993

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2021Tornado (EF0)Preston$275,000This 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 2021Tornado (EF1)Preston$230,000This 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 2016Thunderstorm WindPreston$20,000Dozens 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 1999HailPreston$20,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindPreston$18,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPreston$15,000no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindPreston$10,000Trees were blown down in Preston that also took down power lines.
May 2006Flash FloodPreston$1,500no account filed
June 2008HailPreston$1,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindPreston$1,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindPreston$750no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPreston$250no account filed
March 2025HailPreston-Local media reported ping pong ball sized hail in Preston, Minnesota.
March 2025HailPreston-The public reported half dollar sized hail in Preston, Minnesota. The report was relayed by local media.
August 2014HailPreston-Nickel sized hail fell in Preston. The power was also knocked out, but the cause was not known.
May 2013FloodPreston-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 2013FloodPreston-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 2013Heavy RainPreston-The COOP observer near Preston reported 2.3 inches of rain.
October 2013Heavy RainPreston-In almost a six hour period, 5.85 inches of rain fell in Preston.
September 2010Heavy RainPreston-The storm total rainfall was 4.56 inches.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindPreston-Several large trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind.
April 2017HailPreston-no account filed
May 2016HailPreston-no account filed
July 2014HailPreston-no account filed
April 2013HailPreston-no account filed
July 2006HailPreston-no account filed
March 2005HailPreston-no account filed
June 2000HailPreston-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Fillmore 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
Isinours3.1 miles7
Carimona4.0 miles8
Hutton4.3 miles8
Fountain5.6 miles8
Lanesboro6.6 miles9
Forestville7.2 miles8
Big Spring7.3 miles8
Harmony8.8 miles8

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 Q1916489The 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.