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B−History
History · Forrest

Forrest dates to 1866, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1866founded
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forrest’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forrest began

When was Forrest founded?

1866

Forrest dates its founding to 1866 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 357 in 18802020 census: 1,041160 years

How historic is Forrest?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Forrest’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forrest is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forrest’s overall grade.
Founding era1866, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194036.7% of homes (±9.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder

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 Forrest’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 C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points). Two sources give 1866.

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 Forrest’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.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Forrest.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1906, drew every building in Forrest.Old housesHalf of Forrest’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forrest’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forrest’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 viewPublic school building: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Forrest’s post office has been open since 1868. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Forest Station
1860–1868
Forest
1868–1890
Forrest
1868–today
18601940today

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

Every building

Forrest, building by building, 1893–1906

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Forrest fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Forrest came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Forrest.

Read it all →

Forrest was laid out on December 11, 1866, by Israel J. Krack (1816 – 1900). Krack was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Both of his parents had come from Germany. He was briefly a teacher, lived in Indiana, and came to Livingston County in 1854. Krack was a farmer, notary public, grain dealer, and in later life an insurance agent. Krack was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1872 and became treasurer of Livingston County in 1878. Krack Street, which parallels the railroad, was named for the town's founder.

ChaptersFounding and namingDesign and commerceIntroduction of the Wabash Railroad

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Forrest, 1860 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Forest Station post office opens
  3. 1866
    FoundingForrest is established
  4. 1868Post officeThe Forest Station post office closes
  5. 1868Post officeThe Forest post office opens
  6. 1868Post officeThe Forrest post office opens
  7. 1890Post officeThe Forest post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1910In the archivePublic school building
  10. 1931Born hereClive Follmer is born here
  11. 1932Born hereEd Walker is born here
  12. 1937Born hereJan Bach is born here
  13. 1983On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Forrest, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Public school building1910Public school building
1920s–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
Today4 recent
Forrest, Illinois2019Forrest, IllinoisForrest, Illinois handcar2019Forrest, Illinois handcarForrest, Illinois aerial 01A2012Forrest, Illinois aerial 01AForrest, Illinois aerial 012012Forrest, Illinois aerial 01
On the map

Forrest on the map in 1983

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forrest.

Forrest on the 1983 USGS map1983Forrest North 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 Forrest.

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.

Public school building
Retake this viewPublic school building, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Forrest, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,246

Between 357 and 1,246 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Forrest

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

See all →
Ed WalkerAmerican radio personality · b. 1932
J
Jan BachAmerican composer · b. 1937
Clive FollmerAmerican basketball player · b. 1931

Questions about Forrest’s history

What year was Forrest founded?

In 1866, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Forrest’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 357 people here.

How does Forrest rank for history?

Forrest is more historic than 53% 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 Forrest?

37% of Forrest’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.