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History · Forest View

Forest View dates to 1924

Most of Forest View was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1955. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1930.

1924founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Zol87 from Chicago, IL, USA · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Forest View began

When was Forest View founded?

1924

Forest View dates its founding to 1924 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 125 in 19302020 census: 792102 years
Founding year: Wikidata.

What stands out about Forest View’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Forest View are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Forest View change.Old housesHalf of Forest View’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest View’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Forest View on the map, 1891 to 1993

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

Forest View on the 1891 USGS mapForest View on the 1900 USGS mapForest View on the 1928 USGS mapForest View on the 1953 USGS mapForest View on the 1963 USGS mapForest View on the 1972 USGS mapForest View on the 1980 USGS mapForest View on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside 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 View.

The story so far

Forest View, in brief

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

Forest View is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 792. It is primarily an industrial corridor adjacent to the Chicago neighborhood of Garfield Ridge, which is on the village's southern border.

Forest View was established in 1924. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 698 to 792 (+13%).

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.
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People over time

Forest View, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 1,042

Between 125 and 1,042 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Forest View

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

See all →
Walt DisneyAmerican animator, producer, director, screenwr… · b. 1901
Ernest HemingwayAmerican author and journalist · b. 1899
L
Leo XIV267th Pope of the Catholic Church · b. 1955
Robin WilliamsAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1951
Michelle ObamaLawyer and former First Lady of the United Stat… · b. 1964
Bobby FischerAmerican chess player · b. 1943
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Stickney TownshipIts storyC−StickneyIts storyCLyons Township10 historic placesAChicago407 historic placesA+Lyons2 historic placesASummitIts storyB

Questions about Forest View’s history

What year was Forest View founded?

In 1924, according to Wikidata. the census of 1930 counted 125 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.