Forreston is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Ellis County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 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 U.S.-Mexico borde ...

, south of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Waxahachie. Its population was estimated to be 238 in 2008, but it is not listed in the 2010 census.

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 was 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 Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

(KATY) 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 was the first postmaster and who 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 and, by 2000, it had only some 200 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. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' 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 issue ...

''. The spread was encouraged by Bon Ton Vintage, a shop founded in 1984 by the 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.

Notable person

Denver Pyle, a supporting actor in many roles, including

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

'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 television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', is interred in an unmarked grave at Forreston Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{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