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BHistory
History · Prestonsburg

Prestonsburg dates to 1818, and 13 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #67 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Most of Prestonsburg was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Middle Creek Battlefield, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1840.

1818founded
13on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Prestonsburg began

When was Prestonsburg founded?

1818

Prestonsburg dates its founding to 1818 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 84 in 18402020 census: 3,681208 years

How historic is Prestonsburg?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Prestonsburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prestonsburg is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #67 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prestonsburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.4% of homes (±3.3) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register13 listings, 17 historic buildings, 45.2 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 53%

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Prestonsburg’s 45.2 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). Two sources give 1818.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Prestonsburg’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark13 places on the National Register, including Middle Creek Battlefield, a National Historic Landmark.Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Prestonsburg, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Prestonsburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19155 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1992. Watch Prestonsburg change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

13 historic places in Prestonsburg

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
13
National Historic Landmark
1
Middle Creek Battlefield
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Samuel May House
Samuel May HouseB. F. Combs HouseFront Street Historic DistrictG. D. Callihan HouseHarkins Law Office BuildingJoseph D. Harkins HouseMay-Latta HouseMethodist Episcopal Church, SouthUS Post Office-PrestonsburgWest Prestonsburg BridgeFitzpatrick-Harmon HouseTown Branch BridgeMiddle Creek Battlefield★
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman2
Neo-Classical Revival2
Federal1
Colonial Revival1
Commercial1
Spanish Revival1
Samuel May HouseFederal
B. F. Combs HouseColonial Revival
Front Street Historic DistrictCommercial
G. D. Callihan HouseBungalow/Craftsman
Harkins Law Office BuildingNeo-Classical Revival
Joseph D. Harkins HouseSpanish Revival
May-Latta HouseBungalow/Craftsman
Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthLate Gothic Revival
All 13 listings
US Post Office-PrestonsburgBuilding · listed 1989West Prestonsburg BridgeStructure · listed 1989Middle Creek BattlefieldSite · listed 1992Fitzpatrick-Harmon HouseBuilding · listed 1989Town Branch BridgeStructure · listed 1989

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Prestonsburg’s post office has been open since 1824. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Prestonsburg
1824–today
Cutch
1892–1893
Cliff
1903–1973
Middlecreek
1904–1907
West Prestonburg
1907–1975
Lancer
1917–1968
Fitzpatrick
1936–1937
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CliffLancerWest Prestonsburg
Gone or out of use
Trimble Chapelchurch
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prestonsburg
DavidsonLockhartMayMayoPorterVan BurenvaughnVan Burenvaughn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Prestonsburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prestonsburg’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Prestonsburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prestonsburg.

Read it all →

The area was part of the 100,000-acre (400 km2) grant in the early 1700s to the family of John Preston's wife, born Elizabeth Patton, which he administered on her behalf. The grant was intended to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, but subsequent French and Indian resistance and a reversal of British policy limited its impact. The land was not settled until John Spurlock of Montgomery County, Virginia, arrived in 1791. He laid out the town of "Preston's Station" in 1797. It became the seat of Floyd County upon its formation in 1799 and was formally established in 1818. The post office was known as "Floyd Court House" from its establishment in 1816 until the late 1820s, when it was renamed "Prestonsburg".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Prestonsburg, 1818 to 1992

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818
    FoundingPrestonsburg is established
  3. 1824Post officeThe Prestonsburg post office opens
  4. 1831Born hereJohn McConnell Rice is born here
  5. 1876Born hereGeorge B. Martin is born here
  6. 1883Born hereGreen Hackworth is born here
  7. 1892Post officeThe Cutch post office opens
  8. 1893Post officeThe Cutch post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1903Post officeThe Cliff post office opens
  11. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1973Post officeThe Cliff post office closes
  13. 1981Born hereBoyd Holbrook is born here
  14. 1992LandmarkMiddle Creek Battlefield named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Prestonsburg, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Samuel May House2014Samuel May HousePrestonsburg museum-former post office2014Prestonsburg museum-former post officePrestonsburg Methodist Church2014Prestonsburg Methodist ChurchOld courthouse2014Old courthouseMay-Latta House2014May-Latta HouseMay-Fitzpatrick House2014May-Fitzpatrick HouseJoseph D. Harkins House2014Joseph D. Harkins HouseHarkins Law Office2014Harkins Law OfficeG.D. Callihan House2014G.D. Callihan HouseFront north of Ford in2014Front north of Ford inFront Street bridge over Levisa Fork2014Front Street bridge over Levisa ForkFloyd County Courthouse (new)2014Floyd County Courthouse (new)Fitzpatrick-Harmon House site2014Fitzpatrick-Harmon House siteCourt east of Front2014Court east of FrontB.F. Combs House2014B.F. Combs HousePrestonsburgbusdisaster2013PrestonsburgbusdisasterHrmc hr2009Hrmc hrFloyd county kentucky courthouse2008Floyd county kentucky courthouse
On the map

Prestonsburg on the map, 1915 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prestonsburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Prestonsburg on the 1915 USGS mapPrestonsburg on the 1954 USGS mapPrestonsburg on the 1962 USGS mapPrestonsburg on the 1978 USGS mapPrestonsburg on the 1992 USGS map1915Prestonsburg sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Prestonsburg.

People over time

Prestonsburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001850190019502000Peak: 4,011

Between 84 and 4,011 people in every census since 1840.

17 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prestonsburg’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Prestonsburg

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Boyd HolbrookAmerican actor and former model · b. 1981
George B. MartinDemocrat member of the United States Senate · b. 1876
G
Green HackworthAmerican judge · b. 1883
John McConnell RiceAmerican politician · b. 1831
Greg StumboAmerican politician · b. 1951
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DwaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Prestonsburg’s history

What year was Prestonsburg founded?

In 1818, according to Wikidata. Prestonsburg’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1840 counted 84 people here.

How does Prestonsburg rank for history?

Prestonsburg is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #67 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Prestonsburg?

13 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Samuel May House (listed 1980, the first), 1 historic district, the Front Street Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Prestonsburg?

3% of Prestonsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (13), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.