Lake Forest was first counted by the census in 1970, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #637 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Lake Forest was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Serrano, Jose, Adobe. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Forest is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #637 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Forest’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lake Forest’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (64% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Lake Forest’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From 1863, the community had been known as El Toro. In 1847 José Serrano and his family occupied 11,000 acres of the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting. Whiting was instrumental in bringing the Santa Fe rail line through the region. The Rancho Niguel was granted to Juan B. Alvarado, Juan Avila and his sister Conception, the widow of one Pedro Sánchez. From them it passed to other owners and was divided into plots, including Yorba. In 1874, most of it was owned by Cyrus B. Rawson. Jonathan E. Bacon also owned 1,600 acres. In addition to the Serranos, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.
Passages that mention Lake Forest, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Orange County, California1921 · page 1448Read the page →
Read the text
There were four boys in the family, all of whom are living, and James was the second child. He went to the local public school and the Lake Forest University and on completing the course he came to California in 1884 with an uncle, James Whitaker, who laid out Buena Park in Orange County. For some time uncle and nephew worked together, and then our subject, with Tom Deering, bought out a general merchandise establishment at Buena Park, at which place he was in business until 1909. He was the first postmaster at that place, and he remained there for about twenty years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lake Forest, 1863 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Lake Forest post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1991.
How does Lake Forest rank for history?
Lake Forest is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #637 of 847 in California. 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 Lake Forest?
One place: the Serrano, Jose, Adobe (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Lake Forest?
0.2% of Lake Forest’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2012
