The town of Forestville was settled in 1852 and organized in 1855, named in honor of Forest Henry, the first probate judge of Fillmore County, who had settled there in 1854. The town was incorporated in 1891 and had a post office from 1855 until 1902.
Brothers-in-law William and Felix Meighen were some of the first settlers. Felix saw the need for a general store and stocked it with $700 worth of goods from Galena in October 1853. As more people arrived in Minnesota territory, the town gained a blacksmith shop, a cabinet shop, saw mills, farms, stores, grist mills, and hotels.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forestville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1965Wykoff 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 Forestville Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Forestville Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
