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D−History
History · Forest Park

Forest Park’s post office opened in 1903

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #247 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Forest Park was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forest Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forest Park began

When was Forest Park founded?

1903

The Forest Park post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Forest Station (1869) and Astor (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 173 in 19102020 census: 19,932123 years

How historic is Forest Park?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Forest Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Forest Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest Park is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #247 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.8) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 6%

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest Park’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Forest Park’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Forest Park, and 7 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest Park’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Forest Park’s post office has been open since 1903. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Forest Station
1869–1880
Astor
1881–1903
Forest Park
1903–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Forest Hills Mobile Home ParkManor Ridge ParkMountain View PlazaRidgewoodRock SpringTara HeightsWoodland Park
Gone or out of use
Forest Grove ChurchchurchMorris Army Airfieldairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Forest Park
Forest GroveForest Hills Memorial GardensForest Park City

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

The story

How Forest Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Forest Park.

Read it all →

Forest Park has its origins as a "wood and water stop" for the nation's burgeoning railroad system in the early to mid-1800s. Originally the third stop from Atlanta on the Macon and Western Railroad, the city was incorporated in 1908. The community was named for the parklike setting of the original town site. The 1,465-acre (5.93 km2) Fort Gillem was founded nearby in 1941 and was annexed into the city in 1973.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Forest Park, 1869 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Forest Station post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Forest Station post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Astor post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Astor post office closes
  7. 1903Post officeThe Forest Park post office opens
  8. 1925Born hereBill Lee is born here
  9. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingh…
  10. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1957Born hereDaniel L. Akin is born here
  12. 1963Born hereCindy Schreyer is born here
  13. 1973Born hereCorey Johnson is born here
By decade

Forest Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]1940Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] …Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]1940Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] …
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Forest Park Branch Library2026Forest Park Branch LibraryFirst Baptist Church2026First Baptist ChurchUntitled photo2018Untitled photoStatus-Transportation-Recruiting-and-Maintenance-Facility2016Status-Transportation-Recruiting-and-Maintenance-Faci…Status Transportation Atlanta Facilities2016Status Transportation Atlanta FacilitiesGeorgia State Route 331 in2015Georgia State Route 331 inForest Park, Georgia City Hall2015Forest Park, Georgia City HallForest Park High School2015Forest Park High SchoolForest Park High School (Georgia)2015Forest Park High School (Georgia)Aerial view of2009Aerial view of
On the map

Forest Park on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Forest Park on the 1954 USGS mapForest Park on the 1968 USGS mapForest Park on the 1973 USGS mapForest Park on the 1983 USGS mapForest Park on the 1993 USGS map1954Jonesboro 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 Forest Park.

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.

Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]
Retake this viewFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Forest Park, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 21,447

Between 173 and 21,447 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Forest Park

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

See all →
C
Corey JohnsonAmerican football player · b. 1973
B
Bill LeeAmerican politician, member of the Georgia Hous… · b. 1925
D
Daniel L. AkinTheological seminary president and author · b. 1957
C
Cindy SchreyerProfessional golfer · b. 1963
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ConleyIts storyD−Lake CityIts storyD−MorrowIts storyC−

Questions about Forest Park’s history

What year was Forest Park founded?

The Forest Park post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Forest Park rank for history?

Forest Park is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #247 of 263 in Georgia. 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.

How old are the homes in Forest Park?

0.6% of Forest Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (12), 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.