The Forest post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Dotyville (1849) and Banner (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 975178 years
Founding year: the first Forest post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Forest’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Forest had its own post office from 1848 to 1849. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Forest
1848–1849
Dotyville
1849–1904
Banner
1867–1904
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BannerDotyvilleGraham Corners
Gone or out of use
Elder Grove Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Forest
ForestForest HomeSaint JohnSaint MichaelUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Forest on the map, 1910 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forest. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Fond du Lac 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.
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 town in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 975 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Banner, Dotyville, and Graham Corners are located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,080 to 975 (-10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Forest in 1880
Passages that mention Forest, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin1880 · page 324Read the page →
Read the text
seekers. Pickerel weigliing thirty pounds have been caught in this lake. As a ducking and excellent fishing place. Long Lake, in Sections 13, 24 and 25, of the town of Osceola, is of the most importance, although Duck Lake, in the town of Ashford, Mullet Lake, in the town of Forest, and Lake Fifteen, in the town of Auburn, are famous. Rivers. — Fond du Lac County might well and properly be called the birthplace of rivers, for it has the honor of being the source of more rivers and creeks than any other in Wisconsin-^ perhaps in the Union. And what may be considered still more remarkable, these streams actually flow in four contrary directions — east, west, north and south. All of these streams have their
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, containing ... war record, biographical sketches ... history of Wisconsin ... etc1880 · page 320Read the page →
Read the text
seekers. Pickerel weighing thirty pounds have been caught in this lake. As a ducking and •excellent fishing place. Long Lake, in Sections 13, 24 and 25, of the town of Osceola, is of the most importance, although Duck Lake, in the town of Ashford, Muliet Lake, in the town of Forest, and Lake Fifteen, in the town of Auburn, are famous. Rivers. — Fond du Lac County might well and properly be called the birthplace of rivers, for it has the honor of being the source of more rivers and creeks than any other in Wisconsin — perhaps in the Union. And what may be considered still more remarkable, these streams actually flow in four contrary directions — east, west, north and south. All of these streams have their
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin1880 · page 601Read the page →
Read the text
Forest Sb-eet Association. — In 1857, a select school was organized under the name of the Forest Street Association, which built an audition to the First Baptist Church, corner of Forest and Union streets, and opened a school therein, under the direction of Miss M. S. Merrille, now of Merrille Institute. It was a successful and satisfactory school. Miss Merrille remained less than two years, and. on going to Madison, was succeeded by Miss Sarah Henry, since appointed Matron of the Wisconsin State Prison. The building is now used for church purposes, the school having been discontinued for some time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, containing ... war record, biographical sketches ... history of Wisconsin ... etc1880 · page 601Read the page →
Read the text
Forest Street Association. — In 1857, a select school was organized under the name of the Forest Street Association, which built an addition to the First Baptist Church, corner of Forest and Union streets, and opened a school therein, under the direction of Miss M. S. Merrille, now of Merrille Institute. It was a successful and satisfactory school. Miss Merrille remained less than two years, and, on going to Madison, was succeeded by Miss Sarah Henry, since appointed Matron of the Wisconsin State Prison. The building is now used for church purposes, the school having been discontinued for some time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Forest, 1848 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
