Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.
History grade
What drives Forest Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest Lake is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Lake’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest Lake’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois 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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1935.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forest Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Barrington sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Forest Lake.
The story so far
Forest Lake, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forest Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Forest Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ela Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is about 35 miles (56 km) northwest of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,784. The community was founded in 1935 as a vacation community for Chicago residents.
Forest Lake was established in 1935. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,659 to 1,784 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
In 1935, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town.
How does Forest Lake rank for history?
Forest Lake is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. 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 Lake?
6% of Forest Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
