Preston in Fillmore County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Preston Public Library
Photographed by McGhiever, October 5, 2025
1. Preston Public Library Marker
"A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert." Andrew Carnegie
No well-regulated, progressive town can afford to be without a library in this day and age and Preston should keep step with the procession."
Preston Times, 1910*
Miss Emma Allen
Seeds Planted
1898** - The seeds of a village public library were sown when Emma Allen Mills formed the Preston Browning Round Table. The members "deplored the fact that Preston had no public library where information might be gained". They assessed themselves $1.50 each to buy books for a library.
1905** - The Club sent a letter to the Carnegie Foundation requesting a donation to build a library in Preston.
Roots Sprout
1908 March* - The ladies of the Browning Club attended a village council meeting "en masse" and offered their 327 book collection if the council would levy a tax for library support. The council accepted and the Preston Browning Public Library was opened over the post office.
1909 December* - (the) Carnegie Foundation responded if the Village would designate a
this page online
Branches Grow
1910 May*: "The city council has generously met the requirements of the library by voting $300 annual appropriation and by furnishing light and heat " Mrs. E. B. Read, Librarian
1910 July* "The (Library) Board has long given its time and labor to the library, which must have languished except for its efforts and those of the Browning Club".
Winds Threaten
1911 - April* - Can We Afford to let Pass an Opportunity Which May Never Come Again. "The library proposition is meeting with serious opposition Good people, think carefully and do not throw away this golden opportunity, under a mistaken notion of economy, for it is not economy, this depriving your children of educational advantages, merely parsimony which you will live to regret."
1911 June* - Agitation Renewed & Proposition to Erect Two New Public Buildings Favored. "To the Honorable Village Council: In view of the recent acquisition of the Tibbetts Opera House property and the proposed Village Hall, the taxpayers petition to at the same time
Photographed by McGhiever, October 5, 2025
2. Preston Public Library and Marker (between the flagpole and the stairs)
Leaves Emerge
The circulated petition was signed by 125 citizens at least two thirds of the taxable property owners.
1911 July* - VICTORY. The Library Proposition Carries by an Overwhelming Majority. "The election has been held - the vote being 2 to 1 in favor of acceptance. The women of Preston, who had favored it from the start, and the Times are mainly to be thanked. No town which believes it has a future can afford to be without a public library."
1911 - August - Browning Library Board Minutes.
"A resolution to accept the donation of Andrew Carnegie passed by City Council vote on July 28, 1911."
1911 August*
HOORAY! Long Fight Ended. Contract Let for Library and City Hall for $13,979.
The Harvest Comes
January 1, 1913* - The New Carnegie Library Is Now Occupied.
"(the) infant library begun in 1898 has proved to be the Browning Club's chief accomplishment - the Preston Browning Public Library with its fine Carnegie Building" Mrs. John C. Mills, 25th anniversary address to the Club, 1925.
Sources:
* Preston Times
** A Library for Preston: The Browning Club & Mr. Carnegie, Patricia Ann (Ebert) Schafer, Graduate School of Library & Information Science, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, May 1990
Research and funding provided by members and friends of the Preston Historical Society.
Erected by the Preston Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1898.
Location. 43° 40.205′ N, 92° 5.009′ W. Marker is in Preston, Minnesota, in Fillmore County. It is at the intersection of St. Paul Street SW and Fillmore Street W., on the right when traveling south on St. Paul Street SW. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 St Paul Street NW, Preston MN 55965, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Minnesota and in Greater Rochester. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and in the Driftless Area Bluff Country. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jesse Potter Nehring (here, next to this marker); The Milwaukee Road in Preston / A Day on the Railroad (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Heritage of Downtown Preston (approx. 0.2 miles away); Welcome to Preston: Area Attractions (approx. Ό mile away); Welcome to Preston (approx. Ό mile away); Agriculture and Angling (approx. Ό mile away); Preston All-Wars Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); Preston Overlook (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Preston.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 24, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 24, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
