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History · Forestburg

Forestburg’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Forestburg. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Forestburg is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sanborn County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 54 at the 2020 census. The community was named for a tract of forest near the original town site.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 73 to 54 (-26%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forestburg 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.

Be one of the first

Start Forestburg’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Forestburg

See all 4 →
Shane OsbornShane OsbornLoomis · 16 miVolney F. WarnerVolney F. WarnerWoonsocket · 9 miEleanor McGovernEleanor McGovernWoonsocket · 9 miMMMarion McDonaldLetcher · 9 mi
By decade

Forestburg, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Forestburg is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Forestburg has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 56-090-096 in Silver Creek, 3.6 miles away.

Forestburg and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Forestburg. Tap a dot.
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 56-090-096St. Scholastica RectorySt. Scholastica Catholic ChurchWoonsocket State BankL.P. Nielson BarnZion Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Closest to Forestburg

South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 56-090-096Silver Creek · Structure3.6miSt. Scholastica RectoryLetcher · Building8.8miSt. Scholastica Catholic ChurchLetcher · Building8.8miWoonsocket State BankWoonsocket · Built 19068.9miL.P. Nielson BarnBlaine · Feeder Barn13.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 56-090-096’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Forestburg?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Forestburg’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Logan📜 Silver Creek📜 Union📜 Oneida
The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Forestburg, SDView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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