Forbestown’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Forbestown. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusForbestown (formerly, Boles Dry Diggins and Forbes Diggins) is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 2772 feet (845 m). Its zip code is 95941 and its area code is 530. Forbestown had a population of 396 at the 2020 census. Forbestown is named for B.F. Forbes, who opened a store there in 1850. The post office was established in 1854, closed in 1925, and re-opened in 1936. Forbestown's heyday was the last half of the nineteenth century, when it was a large mining center. By the late 1930s, it was nearly a ghost town. The site has foundations and debris from its mining era.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 320 to 396 (+24%).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forbestown yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Start Forbestown’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forbestown’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewShalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA …, c. 1860: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Forbestown
See all 15 →
Forbestown, decade by decade
Nothing in Forbestown is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Forbestown has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Woodleaf Hotel in Clipper Mills, 4 miles away.
Forbestown and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Shalkespeaare Mine Forbestown CA ca1860 (c. 1860) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (7). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.