Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Forest Park was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1960.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest Park is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest Park’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forest Park’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forest Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Forest Park.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forest Park yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Forest Park is a town in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Forest Park had a population of 1,049.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 998 to 1,049 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 766 and 1,249 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Forest Park’s Wikipedia page.
Forest Park is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. 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.
3% of Forest Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1967.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
