BlockBefore

Forreston, Illinois

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1942 and the latest in 1983. It stands in Forreston Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61030. The Survey maps it on the Forreston North quadrangle. 1,435 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 938 feet above sea level.

Forreston within Ogle County

Population over time

2 figures

Forreston fell from 1,446 to 1,435 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,446
20201,435-11 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

8,941 words on this township

The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on Forreston Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

George W. Hewitt came to this county in October, 1848, from Pennsylvania, and entered a bounty claim. In 1854, he bought the site of Forreston of John Dement. The town was an outgrowth of the Illinois Central Railroad. The original town, now forming the western part of the village, was laid out in the Fall of 1854, on Mr. Hewitt's land. The Railroad Company made two additions, one in 1855, the other March 8, 1861. Mr. Hewitt made three additions, the first, November 14, 1861. West Forreston was laid out April 1st, 1868, by John Meyer.

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

In the Spring of 1855, Mr. Daniels built and opened a store, near the depot on the west side of the track, where he also kept the first post ofiice. In the same Spring, Samuel Mitchell, who had come from Maryland to Lincoln Township, together with Jonathan Meyers, in 1837, and Matthew Blair, who came to Mount Morris from Pennsylvania in 1845, moved to the new village of Forreston with their families and built their residences. In this year, also, Mr. Hewitt brought his family from Pennsylvania, although he had previously built his residence.

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

In the Fall of 1855, Henry Hiller established the first store, of any importance, in the small building still standing just north of the Sherman House. This he sold to Mr. Woodruff, who in turn disposed of his business to David Reinhardt, in 1858. Mr. Reinhardt built the store now occupied by Hewitt & Rosenstiel in the same year, and continued his general store in that building.

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Forreston Township - it names this place 37 more 37 times.

Fires near this place

3 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Forreston in 2020, burning about 5 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 April 2020Railroad operations and maintenance2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources20-0000039
4 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources20-0000032
4 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources20-0000038

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ogle County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Forreston: 7 past producers, 2 producers, 1 plant. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bauch PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sheely Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
C.J. Kutz QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
F. Coffman QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Seifken QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Sheely Quarry No. 1Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Swalve QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Ogle County

Storms near this place

17 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Forreston in 17 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 8 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 5 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2020Thunderstorm WindForreston5 hurtStraight line winds gusting to 100 mph hit the town of Forreston producing widespread tree and power line damage. Tree and power line damage occurred across 48 blocks of the village and structural damage occurred across 13 blocks. Several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in two mobile home parks and five people were injured. At least 50 people were displaced. Significant damage occurred to a large metal building near a gas station with associated debris blown toward the northeast. The gas station had its heating and cooling unit ripped off the roof, leaving a hole in the roof. A cinder block wall was blown out of the east side of a building causing minor damage to a parked semi truck. A garage partially collapsed from a fallen tree. Several other roofs suffered some damage from falling tree limbs. A car was damaged by a falling tree limb.
May 2011Tornado (EF1)Forreston$50,000A tornado touched down just east of Forreston, on Columbine Road near Illinois Route 72 in Ogle County. The tornado continued to the northeast with a near continuous path into Winnebago County. A mobile home lost part of its roof with walls partially collapsed in Adeline. Another double wide home lost a portion of its roof on Leaf River Road at Myrtle road. A couple of utility poles were also snapped or leaning over. The tornado crossed into Winnebago County on East Montague Road near South Conger Road.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindForreston-Tree damage was reported in Forreston.
August 2022Flash FloodForreston-The intersection of W West Grove Road and NW Branch Road was closed due to water flowing over the road.
June 2019Flash FloodForreston-A vehicle became stranded in flowing flood waters 1 to 2 feet deep and the driver had to be rescued.
September 2015Thunderstorm WindForreston-Flattened corn on Townline Rd.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindForreston-Trees and power lines were reported down by Ogle County Sheriff.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindForreston-Several trees were blown down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindForreston-Three to four foot diameter tree split down the middle in Forreston. Trees blown down across all of northern Ogle County.
August 2011HailForreston-no account filed
April 2010HailForreston-no account filed
March 2006HailForreston-no account filed
April 2002HailForreston-no account filed
September 2000HailForreston-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindForreston-no account filed
May 1999HailForreston-no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindForreston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ogle County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Harper3.8 miles14
Haldane4.4 miles14
Maryland4.5 miles14
Adeline4.9 miles14
Baileyville5.0 miles14
Brookville7.7 miles14
Leaf River9.3 miles14
Lightsville9.4 miles14

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ForrestonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2013199The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 408540. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.