Forreston is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Ellis County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States. It lies on

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the Mexican border, w ...

eight miles south of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

. The population was estimated to be 238 in 2008, but Forreston is not listed in the 2010 census. Denver Pyle, a supporting actor in many roles, including

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's ''

The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast chang ...

'' and ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...

'', is interred in an unmarked grave at Forreston Cemetery just south of the community off Highway 77. James "Big Jim" Bynum of Forreston, held, along with Jack Favor of Fort Worth, the 2.2-second rodeo record for bulldogging a steer. Forreston is also home to local television/film actor Adam Russell who moved to Forreston in 2010.

History

The roots of Forreston date to 1843, when the area was known as Howe's Settlement, named for an early settler in the region. In the middle to late 1840s, the community was renamed Chambers Creek. It received its first post office in 1846. It initially served as the original county seat of Navarro County until 1850, when the organization of Ellis County placed the town within the new county. From the early 1850s to the late 1880s, Chambers Creek remained a small farming community, providing a school and a church for local residents and farmers. In 1890, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (KATY) Railroad was built through the area, and businesses began to spring up along the tracks. The community was renamed Forreston, after Carr Forrest, a local landowner who served as the first postmaster and donated the land on which the new rail depot was built. By the 1940s, Forreston had three cotton gins, several businesses, and a population of 350. Throughout the 20th century the town remained a shipping point for local farming and commerce. The population declined; by 2000, it had only some two hundred residents. Forreston was featured in the March 1999 issue of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' in the article entitled "The Best of Small-Town Texas". In August 2007, Forreston was featured in "Shop Vintage with Ken Weber" in the publication, ''

D Magazine ''D Magazine'' is a monthly magazine covering Dallas–Fort Worth. It is headquartered in Downtown Dallas. ''D Magazine'' covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first ...

''. The spread was encouraged by Bon Ton Vintage, a shop founded in 1984 by retired jazz musicians Barbra and John Kauffman which claims to have the "largest collection of vintage clothing in Texas".

Education

Forreston is served by the

Waxahachie Independent School District The Waxahachie Independent School District is a public school district located in Waxahachie, Texas, a suburban community serving as the county seat for Ellis County, which adjoins Dallas County to the north. Waxahachie ISD is a district of abou ...

References

Handbook of Texas Online entry for Forreston
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Ellis County, Texas Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Populated places established in 1843 1843 establishments in the Republic of Texas