Glenn Beck bringing rare American artifacts to Preston for historic fundraiser
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PRESTON – National radio host Glenn Beck will speak at an event in Preston this weekend to help raise funds for two historic buildings.
The conservative political commentator will speak three different times at the Franklin County Event Center, 251 North 250 West, on Saturday. He’ll share stories and historical artifacts from his private collection while discussing the principles on which America was built. The event will benefit the restoration of the Oneida Stake Academy building and the expansion of the Larsen-Sant Public Library.
The Oneida Stake Academy is a large, hand-cut stone building dating back to the 1890s. It served as “a place of education, faith, and community for early generations in the region,” according to its website. Ezra Taft Benson — an eastern Idaho native who served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and later became president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is one of the building’s noteworthy alumni.
The Larsen-Sant Public Library celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. The Preston Citizen reported earlier this month that the library recently broke ground on a 6,000-square-foot expansion project.
The Oneida Stake Academy Foundation invited Beck, who maintains a part-time residence in the Preston area, to help with the cause.
In an interview with EastIdahoNews.com, Beck says he’s excited to be part of this event and speak to the community.
“You’re going to see the handwritten first draft of JFK’s ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ speech. It hasn’t been seen since the 1960s,” Beck says. “You’re going to see stuff from the founders at the signing of the Declaration of Independence — oh my gosh, so much for you to see!”
Beck says one artifact, in particular, “will change everything you think you know about America.”
“You just don’t get a chance to see (stuff like this),” he says.
This isn’t Beck’s first public appearance in the Preston area. In 2023, his artifacts were part of a traveling museum tour that made a stop at Harold B. Lee Elementary School in Dayton, about seven miles west of Preston.
The timing of the 2026 event coincides with the America 250 celebration, which marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Beck is passionate about history and has spent the last 20 years curating what he says is one of the world’s largest private collections of historical artifacts.
Beck says his love of history stems back to his childhood in Mount Vernon, Washington. He was 12 years old at the time of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, and his hometown was dying because of the closure of the mall.
Rather than watch it die, Beck says his mom had the idea to raise money to turn the city into a historical destination.
“About the half the town agreed to it. The other half didn’t. There was this massive controversy (in the community), much like there is now (in our nation) over who we are,” Beck recalls.
He fondly remembers marching in the city’s Rose Bowl Parade in “colonial garb” as a member of the militia.
The way the public school system taught history when he was a kid made him lose interest in it.
Years later, he met David Barton — founder of WallBuilders, a nonprofit that promotes the nation’s history and its Christian beginnings — who has a larger collection of historic artifacts than Beck does today.
Beck recalls an instance when Barton showed him something Thomas Jefferson had written in his own hand, and Beck was riveted.
“It was fascinating to me because it all became real and (Jefferson and other people) became real people (to me),” Beck explains. “I wasn’t memorizing dates; I just saw the story, and it brought these people alive. That’s the secret.”
The pair have partnered in recent years to create the American Journey Experience, a “state-of-the-art museum and research library focusing on American history from Christopher Columbus to the Space Race.” It’s a permanent place to display his collection that will include virtual reality exhibits. It will launch in Dallas, Texas — where Beck’s radio studio is located — next year.
In an interview with The Preston Citizen earlier this month, Alexis Beckstead, chairperson of the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation, said she is looking forward to Saturday’s event and appreciates Beck’s willingness to speak to the community and help raise funds for these historic buildings.
“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday than to learn more about our country’s powerful history,” Beckstead said.
Library board member Sue Stewart also expressed appreciation for Beck’s involvement in the project.
“Since education and history are such integral parts of the missions of both the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation and the library, we couldn’t be more happy with this family-oriented experience,” she told the paper.
The first two shows will happen at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. There will be a dinner show at 6 p.m. To learn more or buy tickets, click here.
Watch snippets of our interview with Glenn Beck in the video above. Catch the full 40-minute conversation this Sunday on It’s Worth Mentioning.