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C+History
History · Forest Hills

Forest Hills dates to 1919, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #886 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1930.

1919founded
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forest Hills’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forest Hills began

When was Forest Hills founded?

1919

Forest Hills dates its founding to 1919 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 4,549 in 19302020 census: 6,429107 years

How historic is Forest Hills?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.
History grade

What drives Forest Hills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest Hills is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #886 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Hills’ overall grade.
Founding era1919, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194037.5% of homes (±5.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 37%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 14%

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 Hills’ 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 D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1919.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hills’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,561 in 1970; 6,429 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1979. Watch Forest Hills change.Old housesHalf of Forest Hills’ homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest Hills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewState Route 120 - Section 4 - Westingho…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Forest Hills, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019401960198020002020Peak: 9,561

Peaked at 9,561 in 1970; 6,429 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

On the map

Forest Hills on the map, 1904 to 1979

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

Forest Hills on the 1904 USGS mapForest Hills on the 1953 USGS mapForest Hills on the 1960 USGS mapForest Hills on the 1979 USGS map1904Pittsburgh 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 Hills.

The story so far

Forest Hills, in brief

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

Forest Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,429 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough was named after Forest Hills, Queens.

Forest Hills was established in 1919. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,518 in 2010, 6,429 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Forest Hills, 1852 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Hope Church post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Hope Church post office closes
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1919
    FoundingForest Hills is established
  7. 1930In the archiveState Route 120 - Section 4 - Westinghouse Research Laboratory
  8. 1966In the archive19660415 10 PAT PCC Ardmore Blvd
  9. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 9,561
By decade

Forest Hills, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1960s4 items
State Route 120 - Section 4 - Westinghouse Research Laboratory1930State Route 120 - Section 4 - Westinghouse Research L…19660415 10 PAT PCC Ardmore Blvd196619660415 10 PAT PCC Ardmore Blvd19660415 10 PAT PCC Ardmore Blvd196619660415 10 PAT PCC Ardmore Blvd19660808 18 PAT 1511 Ardmore Blvd196619660808 18 PAT 1511 Ardmore Blvd
1970s–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
Today5 recent
US 30 eb in Forest Hills, PA (2), May 20242024US 30 eb in Forest Hills, PA (2), May 2024US 30 eb in Forest Hills, PA (1), May 20242024US 30 eb in Forest Hills, PA (1), May 2024St. Maurice Church2021St. Maurice ChurchArdmore Boulevard2011Ardmore BoulevardMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting ForestHills2007Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting ForestHillsMap
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.

State Route 120 - Section 4 - Westinghouse Research Laboratory
Retake this viewState Route 120 - Section 4 - Westinghouse Research Laboratory, 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Hope Church, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Woodside Elementary Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Forest Hills
Agudath AchimSons of Israel

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.

Braddock HillsIts storyB+Wilkins TownshipIts storyB−Churchill1 historic placeC+North Braddock1 historic placeB+

Questions about Forest Hills’ history

What year was Forest Hills founded?

In 1919, according to Wikidata. Forest Hills’ post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1930 counted 4,549 people here.

How does Forest Hills rank for history?

Forest Hills is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #886 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Hills?

38% of Forest Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.

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 (9), 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.