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DHistory
History · Forest Acres

Half of Forest Acres’ homes were built after 1965

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #117 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Forest Acres was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1940.

0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dr. Blazer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

About Forest Acres’ history

How historic is Forest Acres?

D

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Forest Acres’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest Acres is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #117 of 169 in South Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Acres’ overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±2.2) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical SC town 3.2 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 31%

South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest Acres’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

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 →

What stands out about Forest Acres’ 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 Acres are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages8 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest Acres’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forest Acres’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
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BrandywineForest TraceHampton TraceNorth TrenholmOld ForestRavenwoodRavinwoodRockbridge
Gone or out of use
Bethel SchoolschoolGoodwyns Millslocale

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Forest Acres, in brief

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

Forest Acres is a city in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 10,617 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area and is an enclave of the city of Columbia.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,361 to 10,617 (+2%).

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

By decade

Forest Acres, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Forrest Acres, SC2022Forrest Acres, SCForrest Acres, SC 22022Forrest Acres, SC 2Untitled photo2015Untitled photoAC Flora High School sign2013AC Flora High School signCardinalNewmanHS2010CardinalNewmanHSACFloraHS22010ACFloraHS2ACFloraHS2010ACFloraHS
On the map

Forest Acres on the map, 1953 to 1990

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

Forest Acres on the 1953 USGS mapForest Acres on the 1972 USGS mapForest Acres on the 1990 USGS map1953Fort Jackson North sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Forest Acres.

People over time

Forest Acres, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001940196019802000202010,617

Grew from 323 people in 1940 to 10,617 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Columbia148 historic placesA−DentsvilleIts storyDArcadia LakesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWoodfieldIts storyD

Questions about Forest Acres’ history

How does Forest Acres rank for history?

Forest Acres is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #117 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 Acres?

4% of Forest Acres’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (7), 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.