Preston is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

New London County, Connecticut New London County is a County (United States), county in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich, Connecticut, Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford, Conne ...

, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut planning region. Its population was 4,788 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston City, and

Poquetanuck Poquetanuck ( ) is a village in the New England town, town of Preston, Connecticut, United States, located near the banks of a bay known as Poquetanuck Cove that opens to the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. The village includes the Nat ...

History

In 1686, Thomas Parke, Thomas Tracy, and several others petitioned for and were granted by the Connecticut General Court authority to establish a plantation seven miles square to the east of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and north of New London and Stonington. Owaneco, son of the

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Indigenous people originally based in what is now southeastern Connecticut in the United States. They are part of the Eastern Algonquian linguistic and cultural family and historically shared close ties with the neighboring ...

''sachem ''

Uncas Uncas () was a '' sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes. Early life and family Uncas was born ...

, gave a confirmatory

deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...

for the land in 1687. In October of that same year, the town was formally incorporated as Preston, named for the English city of

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

. Early trades in the area included shoemaking, metalsmithing, shipbuilding, and brickmaking.Connecticut History: Preston
accessed November 5, 2017. The Ecclesiastical Society of Preston was first organized in 1698, with the first meetinghouse located in present-day Preston City. At the request of residents in the northern part of Preston (now the town of Griswold), the North Society was established in 1716. A splinter group, the Separate Church of Preston, was established in 1747 and continued until 1817. The Preston City Baptist Church (now the Preston City Bible Church) was established in 1812. The town of Griswold separated from the town of Preston in 1815. On August 4, 1954, an Air France Lockheed L-1049C

Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft was colloquially referred to as the Super Connie. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC ...

flying from

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

, Paris, to

Idlewild Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...

, New York City, crash-landed in a farm field in Preston, with no casualties. Preston has a large number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Preston City Historic District and the Long Society Meeting House.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 2.71%, is covered by water.

Principal communities

Three distinct settlements were in the town when it was first established:About Preston
, Town of Preston website, accessed September 9, 2009 * Long Society * Preston City *

Other minor communities and geographic locations in the town are Hallville, Happyland, and Preston Plains.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 4,688 people, 1,837 households, and 1,359 families were residing in the town. The population density was . The 1,901 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.63% White, 0.75% African American, 0.83% ative American, 1.15% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. [Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.39% of the population. Of the 1,837 households, 30.3% had children under 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were not families. About 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 4.95. In the town, the age distribution was 22.4% under 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 100.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $54,942, and for a family was $62,554. Males had a median income of $44,053 versus $28,226 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,752. About 1.6% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under 18 and 5.5% of those 65 or over.

Education

According to the Preston Historical Society, "Schools were built in 'districts' to serve the local children, until two central schools, one on Poquetanuck and one in Preston City, were built between 1938 and 1940." Currently, public education in Preston is administered by Preston Public Schools, which operates the Preston Veterans' Memorial School (prekindergarten to grade 5) and the Preston Plains Middle School (grades 6–8). For high school, students go to multiple school districts of surrounding towns, including the

Norwich Free Academy The Norwich Free Academy (NFA), founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a coeducational independent school for students between the 9th and 12th grade. Located in Norwich, Connecticut, the Academy serves as the primary high school for Nor ...

, Ledyard High School, Grasso Tech, Norwich Tech, Saint Bernard High School, Marine Science Magnet High School, and Science and Tech Magnet High School in New London.

Notable locations

* Strawberry Park is located within Preston. *

Pachaug State Forest Pachaug State Forest is the largest forest in the Connecticut state forest system, encompassing over 27,000 acres (110 km²) of land. It is located on the Rhode Island border in New London County, and parcels of the forest lie in the town ...

* Amos Lake *

Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is an integrated resort owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their Indian reservation, reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casino ...

is located just outside of Preston.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Hallville Mill Historic District Hallville Mill Historic District is a historic district in the town of Preston, Connecticut, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Contributing properties in the district are 23 buildings, two other contributing ...

– Hallville Road, Hall's Mill Road, and Route 2A on Hallville Pond (added September 22, 1996) *

Long Society Meetinghouse The Long Society Meetinghouse is a historic church building at 45 Long Society Road in Preston, Connecticut. It is one of only about a dozen surviving colonial "broad side" colonial meeting house, meeting houses, and is the last example survivin ...

was built in 1819 on the site of an earlier meetinghouse and added to the register in 1976. *

Poquetanuck Village Historic District Poquetanuck ( ) is a village in the New England town, town of Preston, Connecticut, United States, located near the banks of a bay known as Poquetanuck Cove that opens to the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. The village includes the Nat ...

– roughly along Main Street between Route 117 and Middle Road and along School House and Cider Mill Road (added September 22, 1996) * Preston City Historic District – Amos and Old Shetucket Roads, Northwest Corner Road, and Route 164 (added August 31, 1987)

Notable people

* Nathan Belcher (1813–1891), lawyer, Connecticut state senator, and

US congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of the ...

, born in Preston * Jonathan Brewster (1593–1659), buried in Preston *

Isaac E. Crary Isaac Edwin Crary (October 2, 1804 – May 8, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the first elected U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan. He served in the Michigan House of Representatives including as Speaker. Early li ...

(1804–1854), the first elected congressman from the state of Michigan, born in Preston *

William Howard Doane William Howard Doane (February 3, 1832 – December 24, 1915) was a manufacturer, inventor, hymn writer, choral director, church leader and philanthropist. He composed over 2,000 church hymns. More than seventy patents are credited to him for ...

(1831–1915), industrialist and composer *

Beriah Green Beriah Green Jr. (March 24, 1795May 4, 1874) was an American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, minister, and head of the Oneida Institute. He was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views". Former student Alexan ...

(1795–1874), abolitionist and author born in Preston * Clarence Ellis Harbison (1885–1960), animal psychologist who lived his later life and died in Preston *

John Haskell Hewitt John Haskell Hewitt (August 8, 1835 – October 8, 1920) was an United States of America, American classical scholar and educator, notable for serving as acting president of Williams College from 1901 to 1902. Born in Preston, Connecticut, to Cha ...

(1835–1920),

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and professor born in Preston * George D. Prentice (1802–1870), controversial newspaper editor born in town *

Henry Brewster Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the ''New York Tribune,'' the ''New York Sun,'' and William Lloyd Gar ...

(1805–1887), abolitionist, social reformer and husband of

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...

; born in town * George A. Starkweather (1794–1879), congressman for New York, born in Preston * Henry H. Starkweather (1826–1876), postmaster and congressman born in Preston *

Joseph Steward Joseph Steward (July 6, 1753 – April 15, 1822) was an American minister, portrait painter and museum curator. Minister Joseph Steward was born on July 6, 1753, the son of Joseph and Jane (Wilson) Steward of Upton, MA. He attended Dartmouth C ...

(1753–1822), artist who studied and lived in Preston *Ann Story (1735-1817), local revolutionary war heroine born in PresonPreston Connecticut Vital Records, volume 1, page 109 (birth), and Preston Connecticut Vital Records, volume 1, page 76 (parents' marriage)

References

External links

Town of Preston official website
{{authority control Towns in New London County, Connecticut Towns in Connecticut Populated places on the Thames River (Connecticut) Towns in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut