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C−History
History · Forest

Forest’s post office opened in 1924, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #165 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Forest was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 2000.

1924first post office
6on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forest’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forest began

When was Forest founded?

1924

The Forest post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 8,006 in 20002020 census: 11,709102 years

How historic is Forest?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Forest post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Forest’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forest is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #165 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forest’s overall grade.
Founding era1924, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register6 listings, 15 historic buildings, 11.2 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 35%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Forest’s 11.2 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark6 places on the National Register, including Poplar Forest, a National Historic Landmark.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 historic places in Forest

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmark
1
Poplar Forest
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Elk Hill
Elk HillWoodbourneOld RectorySaint Stephen's Episcopal ChurchRothsayPoplar Forest, built 1826★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Octagonal1
Greek Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Craftsman1
★ Landmark
Poplar ForestOctagonal · Built 1826
Elk HillFederal
WoodbourneFederal
Old RectoryBuilding
Saint Stephen's Episcopal ChurchGreek Revival
RothsayColonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Forest’s post office has been open since 1924.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bluemont EstatesClayForest ParkHomestead HavenMeadow WoodOakviewPoplar Forest
Gone or out of use
Hutter SchoolschoolIvy Hill Airportairport

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

Help out

Start Forest’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPoplar Forest, State Route 661: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Forest, in brief

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

Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1924. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,106 to 11,709 (+29%).

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

Timeline

Forest, 1826 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826BuiltPoplar Forest is built
  3. 20th century
  4. 1924Post officeThe Forest post office opens
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1971LandmarkPoplar Forest named a National Historic Landmark
  7. 1985Born hereRashad Jennings is born here
  8. 1987Born hereChris Jones is born here
  9. 1996Born hereElijah Benton is born here
By decade

Forest, decade by decade

Date unknown5 to date
Poplar Forest, State Route 661Date?Poplar Forest, State Route 661Poplar Forest, Dairy, State Route 661Date?Poplar Forest, Dairy, State Route 661Poplar Forest, Barns, State Route 661Date?Poplar Forest, Barns, State Route 661Poplar Forest, Privies, State Route 661Date?Poplar Forest, Privies, State Route 661Poplar Forest, Summer Kitchen, State Route 661Date?Poplar Forest, Summer Kitchen, State Route 661
On the map

Forest on the map, 1950 to 1985

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

Forest on the 1950 USGS mapForest on the 1965 USGS mapForest on the 1978 USGS mapForest on the 1985 USGS map1950Goode 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.

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.

Poplar Forest, State Route 661
Retake this viewPoplar Forest, State Route 661

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Forest, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00020002020Peak: 11,709

Between 8,006 and 11,709 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Forest

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

See all →
Rashad JenningsAmerican football player · b. 1985
E
Elijah BentonAmerican football safety · b. 1996
C
Chris JonesAmerican racing driver · b. 1987
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lynchburg57 historic placesATimberlake2 historic placesC+

Questions about Forest’s history

What year was Forest founded?

The Forest post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Forest rank for history?

Forest is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #165 of 253 in Virginia. 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.

What is on the National Register in Forest?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Elk Hill (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Poplar Forest, with 6 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Forest?

0.2% of Forest’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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) 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.