Creston

History

Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It was named for the fact that it was on the crest of the railroad line between the Missouri and Mississippi river basins. The area was developed largely for agriculture, with related industries accompanying it. Creston had a flour mill in the early decades of the 20th century. The town was officially established in 1869 and incorporated in 1871. Creston was chosen as the division point for the railroad, who built machine shops, a roundhouse, and a construction camp in the new town. Railroad employees, including African Americans, were recruited from Chicago and other major cities to work in Creston. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) opened a new station in Creston in 1899. The three-story, yellow brick Creston station is in the French Provincial style, with a red-tiled mansard roof. Creston's economy and population were affected during the mid-20th century by a reduction in passenger train service and decline in railroad employment. The old machine shop building was destroyed by a tornado in 1946 and the remainder of the roundhouse burned down in 1981. The CB&Q station served passengers for 69 years before being renovated in 1978 to serve as city hall. The railroad, now BNSF Railway, continues to be a major hauler of grain and coal in the region and uses Creston as a crew change point: Creston-based crews operate trains between Creston and Lincoln, Nebraska, while crews from Galesburg, Illinois and Lincoln stay in Creston before returning home. Creston is served by Amtrak's daily Chicago–San Francisco Bay Area California Zephyr. Amtrak has used Creston's historic CB&Q station since 2019. Creston was hit by a strong EF2 tornado on April 14, 2012. The…

Geography

Creston is located on U.S. Route 34 in southwest Iowa, approximately 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Des Moines and east of Omaha, Nebraska. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. McKinley Lake lies within a large, multi-purpose municipal park within the city limits, and three additional recreational lakes are located within seven miles of Creston: Green Valley State Park, Summit Lake, Twelve Mile Lake and Three Mile Recreation Area. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Creston has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  231
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  192
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  164
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  153
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  132
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  130
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  105
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  100