Most of Forsan was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1970.
Forsan's development as a community dates back to the 1920s, when oil was discovered in the area. Oil companies began leasing local land and production from the first oil well began on November 9, 1925. On May 28, 1928, a town site on the ranch of Clayton Stewart was placed on the market. An office was set up and lots were sold at twenty-five dollars each. By December 1928, the growing community was known as Forsan. The name was derived from the fact that four paying oil sands were believed to be present in the area. Drillers would later discover that there were actually at least five sands present. A school and several businesses opened soon after. On March 5, 1929, Forsan's post office began operating. A true oil boomtown, Forsan's population had already reached 350 by 1931. The Great Depression's impact on Forsan was less significant than in other rural Texas towns. The population g…
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 Wikipedia, 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.
