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History · Forrester Township

Half of Forrester Township’s homes were built after 1971

Most of Forrester Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1966 on.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Forrester Township’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 Forrester Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Forrester Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forrester Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forrester Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Challacombe
1880–1897
Laird
1909–1924
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Laird
Gone or out of use
Aldrich Northeast Oil FieldoilfieldChallacombelocaleDickman Oil Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Forrester Township
North Star

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

The story so far

Forrester Township, in brief

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

Forrester Township is a township in Ness County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 93.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 103 to 93 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Forrester Township, 1880 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Challacombe post office opens
  3. 1897Post officeThe Challacombe post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Post officeThe Laird post office opens
  6. 1924Post officeThe Laird post office closes
  7. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Forrester Township on the map in 1966

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forrester Township.

Forrester Township on the 1966 USGS map1966Ransom SW 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 Forrester Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Forrester Township

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

See all →
Ruth RileyAmerican basketball player · b. 1979
Ricky Lee NeelyKorean-American model and actor · b. 1981
D
Don HinemanAmerican politician · b. 1947
E
Elon HogsettMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1903
G
Gilmore KinneyAmerican college basketball player · b. 1886
L
Linda GallagherAmerican politician · b. 1957
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eden Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNevada Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOhio Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter Township2 historic placesAFranklin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Forrester Township’s history

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, 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.