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History · Forbestown

Forbestown’s post office opened in 1854

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1948 on.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forbestown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forbestown began

When was Forbestown founded?

1854

The Forbestown post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 396172 years
Founding year: the first Forbestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Forbestown’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forbestown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewShalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Forbestown, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forbestown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Forbestown (formerly, Boles Dry Diggins and Forbes Diggins) is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 2772 feet (845 m). Its zip code is 95941 and its area code is 530. Forbestown had a population of 396 at the 2020 census. Forbestown is named for B.F. Forbes, who opened a store there in 1850. The post office was established in 1854, closed in 1925, and re-opened in 1936. Forbestown's heyday was the last half of the nineteenth century, when it was a large mining center. By the late 1930s, it was nearly a ghost town. The site has foundations and debris from its mining era.

Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 320 to 396 (+24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Forbestown, 1854 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Forbestown post office opens
  3. 1860In the archiveShalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860
  4. 20th century
  5. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Forbestown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Shalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860c. 1860Shalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860
Today6 recent
Forbestown Masonic Lodge (2025)-L10075422025Forbestown Masonic Lodge (2025)-L1007542Forbestown Masonic Lodge (2025)-L10074902025Forbestown Masonic Lodge (2025)-L1007490Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L10075382025Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L1007538Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L10075322025Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L1007532Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L10075262025Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L1007526Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L10075232025Forbestown Cemetery (2025)-L1007523
On the map

Forbestown on the map, 1948 to 1994

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

Forbestown on the 1948 USGS mapForbestown on the 1950 USGS mapForbestown on the 1970 USGS mapForbestown on the 1994 USGS map1948Forbestown sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Shalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860
Retake this viewShalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860, c. 1860

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Forbestown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Forbestown

Nobody well known was born in Forbestown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Tully MarshallAmerican actor · b. 1864
Doug LaMalfaAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1960
Alela DianeAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1983
Jack YermanAmerican sprinter · b. 1939
Alexis AlfordAmerican traveler, photographer, and YouTuber; … · b. 1998
J
Joseph AshtonAmerican actor born 1986 · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Forbestown’s post office has been open since 1854.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Forbestown
Gone or out of use
Denver Minemine
1cemetery inside Forbestown
Forbestown

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

Questions about Forbestown’s history

What year was Forbestown founded?

The Forbestown post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.