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History · Forbes Township

The history of Forbes Township

Below: maps from 1979 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Forbes Township’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 Forbes Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Forbes Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forbes Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forbes Township’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

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kirkwood
1883–1898
Fridhem
1885–1892
18801950today
Gone or out of use
FridhemlocaleFridhem Swedish Lutheran ChurchchurchKirkwoodlocale
1cemetery inside Forbes Township
Friedhem Lutheran

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Forbes Township, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 101 to 63 (-38%).

Timeline

Forbes Township, 1883 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Kirkwood post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Fridhem post office opens
  4. 1892Post officeThe Fridhem post office closes
  5. 1898Post officeThe Kirkwood post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Forbes Township on the map, 1979 to 1986

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

Forbes Township on the 1979 USGS mapForbes Township on the 1986 USGS map1979Lake George 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 Forbes Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Platte Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake George TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTorrey Lake Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Forbes Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.