The story so far
from the U.S. CensusBetween the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 183 to 136 (-26%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Preston yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Be one of the first
Start Preston’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Preston’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Preston, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Preston is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Preston has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 06-129-020 in Eureka, 3.4 miles away.
Preston and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Preston. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 06-129-020’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Preston?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Preston’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.