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C+History
History · Forest

Forest’s post office opened in 1859, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #61 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

Most of Forest was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1890.

1859first post office
3on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Forest began

When was Forest founded?

1859

The Forest post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1860.

First census: 547 in 18902020 census: 5,430167 years

How historic is Forest?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Forest post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1860.
History grade

What drives Forest’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #61 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.2% of homes (±2.0) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 32 historic buildings, 59.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 39%

Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest’s 59.7 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1860 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Forest’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 Forest are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Forest Downtown Historic District takes in 31 historic buildings.On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 2000. Watch Forest change.Famous sons and daughtersArthur Crudup, Donald Gray Triplett and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forest’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
On the National Register

3 listings protect 32 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
US Post Office-Forest
US Post Office-ForestMoore Lookout Tower, built 1940Forest Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
US Post Office-ForestColonial Revival
All 3 listings
Moore Lookout TowerStructure · listed 1999Forest Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2014

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Forest on the map, 1922 to 2000

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

Forest on the 1922 USGS mapForest on the 1950 USGS mapForest on the 1982 USGS mapForest on the 2000 USGS map1922Forest 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 Forest.

The story so far

Forest, in brief

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

Forest is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Forest had a population of 5,430. The population is a minority-majority.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,684 to 5,430 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Forest, 1859 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Forest post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Born hereArthur Crudup is born here
  5. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1933Born hereDonald Gray Triplett is born here
  7. 1933Born hereDuke Washington is born here
  8. 1939Born hereLewis Nordan is born here
  9. 1940BuiltMoore Lookout Tower is built
By decade

Forest, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Blues Trail Marker2021Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Blues Trail MarkerForest Mississippi City Hall 20152015Forest Mississippi City Hall 2015
People over time

Forest, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,987

Between 547 and 5,987 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Forest

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

See all →
Arthur CrudupAmerican recording artist; Delta blues singer, … · b. 1905
Donald Gray TriplettAmerican banker and the first person to be diag… · b. 1933
D
Duke WashingtonAmerican football player · b. 1933
L
Lewis NordanAmerican writer · b. 1939
R
Rashard AndersonAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1977
S
Sheila GuyseAfrican-American singer, actress, and recording… · b. 1925

Questions about Forest’s history

What year was Forest founded?

The Forest post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1860.

How does Forest rank for history?

Forest is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #61 of 100 in Mississippi. 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.

What is on the National Register in Forest?

Three places: the US Post Office-Forest (listed 1993), the Moore Lookout Tower (1999) and the Forest Downtown Historic District (2014).

How old are the homes in Forest?

1% of Forest’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.