Preston Overlook

SHPO number: FL-PRC-041

National Register Nomination
1998 inventory form (PDF)
Treatment Report

Preston Overlook is located along Trunk Highway 52 within the eastern city limits of Preston in Fillmore County. The stone overlook wall is positioned to provide scenic views of the Root River, the Root River Valley, the Fillmore County Fairgrounds, and the surrounding farmland. Built between 1937 and 1938, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Significant historic elements and status

Evaluated under the Multiple Property Documentation Form entitled “Federal Relief Construction in Minnesota, 1933-1941,” the Preston Overlook is significant as an excellent example of wayside rests built during the formative years of the Roadside Development Division of the Minnesota Department of Highways. The Preston Women’s Civic Improvement Club lobbied for the highway beautification project after the completion of the Inspiration Point Wayside Rest near Lanesboro. Developed in conjunction with landscaping completed along 1.14 miles of Trunk Highway 52 to improve highway safety and aesthetics, the property is also an example of the partnership between the Highway Department and federal relief agencies during the Great Depression. The National Reemployment Service, operated out of the US Department of Labor, provided some labor for the construction. This was augmented by state-paid labor due to shortages of relief-eligible workers in the program.

In addition to its historical associations, the Preston Overlook is significant as a masterful example the roadside development work of Arthur R. Nichols completed in the National Park Service Rustic Style. Nichols, a consulting landscape architect for the Minnesota Highway Department, worked with engineer Harold E. Olson to preserve and highlight the dramatic landscape on the bank above the Root River. The 175-foot-long overlook wall incorporated a pre-existing oak tree within the design of the adjacent flagstone walkway, a feature Nichols used in a portfolio of his roadside development work. The overall design of the site and wall is a successful blend of the refined forms Nichols commonly used in landscape and structural design with the rugged nature commonly associated with the Rustic Style.

Features that contribute to and help convey the significance of the Preston Overlook include: the overlook’s location along the Root River and within the Root River Valley; the overall spatial organization, circulation, and vegetation; the stone overlook wall with two lookout bays; the flagstone walkway and terrace; and stone curbing encircling the traffic island.