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History · Foristell

Foristell’s post office opened in 1873

Most of Foristell was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1980.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Roastedbeanz1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Foristell began

When was Foristell founded?

1873

The Foristell post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Snow Hill (1859), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 119 in 19802020 census: 550153 years
Founding year: the first Foristell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Foristell’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 Foristell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foristell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foristell’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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The story

How Foristell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Foristell.

Read it all →

The city now known as Foristell started in 1856 under the name of "Millville". The first homes, as well as a railroad, were constructed in that year. In 1858, Millville built its first post office.

The community saw rapid growth during the Civil War. A mill and a tobacco factory were both established. It was during this time that a man by the name of Pierre Foristell gained respect throughout the community. The town of Millville officially changed its name to Foristell in 1875.

In 1979, Foristell was incorporated into a village. Just nine years later, however, the residents voted to make it a fourth-class city. This transition came about the following year, in 1989.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Foristell, 1859 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Snow Hill post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Snow Hill post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Foristell post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1941On 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.

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On the map

Foristell on the map, 1941 to 1982

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

Foristell on the 1941 USGS mapForistell on the 1972 USGS mapForistell on the 1982 USGS map1941Troy 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 Foristell.

People over time

Foristell, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020550

Grew from 119 people in 1980 to 550 in 2020, 4 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Foristell’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Snow Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Snow Hill
1859–1873
Foristell
1873–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
African Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wentzville1 historic placeC−

Questions about Foristell’s history

What year was Foristell founded?

The Foristell post office opened in 1873, 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 →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.