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History · High Forest Township

High Forest Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

1856first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How High Forest Township began

When was High Forest Township founded?

1856

The High Forest Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Pleasant Valley (1855), High Forest (1856) and Judge (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 966170 years
Founding year: the first High Forest Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about High Forest 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 High Forest Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s High Forest Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start High Forest Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how High Forest 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

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

Pleasant Valley
1855–1856
High Forest
1856–1902
Judge
1897–1902
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
High ForestJudge
Gone or out of use
High Forest Post Officepost officeJudgelocaleJudge Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside High Forest Township
High Forest

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

The story

How High Forest Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of High Forest Township.

Read it all →

High Forest was platted in 1855, and named for the forests near the original town site. A post office was established at High Forest in 1856, and remained in operation until 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

High Forest Township, 1855 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Pleasant Valley post office opens
  3. 1856Post officeThe Pleasant Valley post office closes
  4. 1856Post officeThe High Forest post office opens
  5. 1894Born hereWilliam Fawcett is born here
  6. 1897Post officeThe Judge post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe High Forest post office closes
  9. 1902Post officeThe Judge post office closes
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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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rochester13 historic placesBRock Dell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRacine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSumner Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRochester Township1 historic placeB+Pleasant Grove Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about High Forest Township’s history

What year was High Forest Township founded?

The High Forest Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.