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B−History
History · Forest City

Forest City was first counted by the census in 1870, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1870.

1870first census
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forest City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forest City began, and where its name came from

When was Forest City founded?

1870

Forest City first appears in the census in 1870. Another post office, Pentecost (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 993 in 18702020 census: 1,780156 years

How did Forest City get its name?

Forest City was named after one of the first local settlers, William Pentecost, who had started the lumbering and milling industries in the area.

How historic is Forest City?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Forest City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest City is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest City’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194044.4% of homes (±7.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1994. Watch Forest City change.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,004 in 1920; 1,780 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1914, drew every building in Forest City.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forest City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewForest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 18…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Forest City on the map, 1892 to 1994

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

Forest City on the 1892 USGS mapForest City on the 1946 USGS mapForest City on the 1969 USGS mapForest City on the 1994 USGS map1892Honesdale 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 City.

People over time

Forest City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,004

Peaked at 6,004 in 1920; 1,780 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Forest City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Forest City.

Read it all →

The land that would become Forest City had been known as "Forest Mills" since the 1850s. From 1879 to 1886, the post office was called "Pentecost". It was named after one of the first local settlers, William Pentecost, who had started the lumbering and milling industries in the area. The post office was renamed Forest City in 1886, and the Forest City borough was formed in 1888.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Forest City, 1873–1887

Passages that mention Forest City, cut from the printed page as they were published.

the two sections of the Jefferson Railroad, which will probably be done by a road extending up the Dyberry branch of the Lackawanna, from Honesdale either to the Ararat Summit, or through Griswold's Gap to Forest City station. [Hon. S. S. Benedict.] The Montrose Railroad. — The public began to be i…
History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania1873 · page 515Read the page →
Read the text

the two sections of the Jefferson Railroad, which will probably be done by a road extending up the Dyberry branch of the Lackawanna, from Honesdale either to the Ararat Summit, or through Griswold's Gap to Forest City station. [Hon. S. S. Benedict.] The Montrose Railroad. — The public began to be interested in this enterprise during the summer of 1868.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the two sections of the Jefferson Railroad, which will probably be done by a road extending up the Dyberry branch of the Lackawanna, from Honesdale either to the Ararat Summit, or through Griswold’s Gap to Forest City station. [Hon. S. S. Benedict.] The Montrose Railroad. — The public began to be i…
History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. from a period preceding its settlement to recent times, including the annals and geography of each township... Also a sketch of woman's work in the county for the United States sanitary commission, and a list o1873 · page 515Read the page →
Read the text

the two sections of the Jefferson Railroad, which will probably be done by a road extending up the Dyberry branch of the Lackawanna, from Honesdale either to the Ararat Summit, or through Griswold’s Gap to Forest City station. [Hon. S. S. Benedict.] The Montrose Railroad. — The public began to be interested in this enterprise during the summer of 1868.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Forest City. — This new and rapidly-growing town is on the west side of the Lackawanna River, in the southeastern part of the township, and is also a station on the Jefferson Branch of the Erie Railway.
Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania1887Read the page →
Read the text

Forest City. — This new and rapidly-growing town is on the west side of the Lackawanna River, in the southeastern part of the township, and is also a station on the Jefferson Branch of the Erie Railway.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Forest City M. E. Church became an incorporated body January 17, 1885, with W. J. Gilchrist, Wm. Pentecost, Benjamin Maxey, Robert H. Dunn and George Johnson as the first board of trustees. Under their direction a neat church edifice was built on contract by L. P. Wedeman, which was dedicated Novem…
Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania1887 · page 801Read the page →
Read the text

Forest City M. E. Church became an incorporated body January 17, 1885, with W. J. Gilchrist, Wm. Pentecost, Benjamin Maxey, Robert H. Dunn and George Johnson as the first board of trustees. Under their direction a neat church edifice was built on contract by L. P. Wedeman, which was dedicated November 17, 1886. It is a frame, with a small spire, and has sittings for two hundred persons. Prior to the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Forest City, 1878 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Born hereGeorge W. Maxey is born here
  3. 1879Post officeThe Pentecost post office opens
  4. 1880Born hereHarry Lumley is born here
  5. 1886Post officeThe Pentecost post office closes
  6. 1886Post officeThe Forest City post office opens
  7. 1889In the archiveForest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 1889
  8. 1890Born herePat O'Malley is born here
  9. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 6,004
  12. 1937Born hereAnthony J. Burshnick is born here
By decade

Forest City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
Forest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 18891889Forest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 1889
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Forest City, PA post office, April 20252025Forest City, PA post office, April 2025436 Main Forest City PA2015436 Main Forest City PAPennsylvania State Route 1712008Pennsylvania State Route 171
Every building

Forest City, building by building, 1892–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Forest City fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Forest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 1889
Retake this viewForest City, Susquehanna County, Pa. 1889, 1889

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Forest City’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Forest City

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

See all →
Pat O'MalleyAmerican stage and film actor · b. 1890
Harry LumleyAmerican baseball player · b. 1880
G
George W. MaxeyAmerican judge · b. 1878
A
Anthony J. BurshnickUnited States Air Force general · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Forest City’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Pentecost, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pentecost
1879–1886
Forest City
1886–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Clifford ShaftmineOld Forest City Shaftmine

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.

Clinton TownshipIts storyB−VandlingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClifford TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Forest City’s history

What year was Forest City founded?

The Forest City post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1871.

How does Forest City rank for history?

Forest City is more historic than 54% 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.

How old are the homes in Forest City?

44% of Forest City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1951.

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 (4), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.