Forbestown, California

For the city in Lake County formerly with this name, see Lakeport, California.

Forbestown (formerly, Boles Dry Diggins and Forbes Diggins) is a census-designated place^[4] in Butte County, California.^[2] It lies at an elevation of 2772 feet (845 m).^[2] Its zip code is 95941 and its area code is 530. Forbestown had a population of 396 at the 2020 census.

Forbestown
Census-designated place
Shakespeare Mining & Milling Co, headframe and miners, ca. 1860
Location of Forbestown in Butte County, California.
Forbestown Location in California Show map of California Forbestown Forbestown (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°31′02″N 121°16′02″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Butte County
Area [1]
• Total	6.280 sq mi (16.266 km2)
• Land	6.274 sq mi (16.250 km2)
• Water	0.006 sq mi (0.015 km2)  0.09%
Elevation [2]	2,772 ft (845 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	396
• Density	63/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
GNIS feature IDs	1656023; 2612480
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Forbestown, California, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Forbestown, California

Forbestown is named for B.F. Forbes, who opened a store there in 1850.^[5] The post office was established in 1854, closed in 1925, and re-opened in 1936.^[5]

Forbestown's heyday was the last half of the nineteenth century, when it was a large mining center.^[6] By the late 1930s, it was nearly a ghost town.^[6] The site has foundations and debris from its mining era.^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	320		—
2020	396		23.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 2010[8]

Forbestown first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.^[8]

The 2020 United States census reported that Forbestown had a population of 396. The population density was 63.1 inhabitants per square mile (24.4/km²). The racial makeup of Forbestown was 310 (78.3%) White, 4 (1.0%) African American, 14 (3.5%) Native American, 2 (0.5%) Asian, 1 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 12 (3.0%) from other races, and 53 (13.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 45 persons (11.4%).^[9]

The whole population lived in households. There were 163 households, out of which 35 (21.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 72 (44.2%) were married-couple households, 10 (6.1%) were cohabiting couple households, 35 (21.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 46 (28.2%) had a male householder with no partner present. 55 households (33.7%) were one person, and 37 (22.7%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43.^[9] There were 99 families (60.7% of all households).^[10]

The age distribution was 96 people (24.2%) under the age of 18, 23 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 72 people (18.2%) aged 25 to 44, 120 people (30.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 85 people (21.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 131.6 males.^[9]

There were 188 housing units at an average density of 30.0 units per square mile (11.6 units/km²), of which 163 (86.7%) were occupied. Of these, 145 (89.0%) were owner-occupied, and 18 (11.0%) were occupied by renters.^[9]

Government

In the California State Legislature, Forbestown is in the 4th senatorial district, represented by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil,^[11] and the 1st Assembly district, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.^[12]

In the United States House of Representatives, Forbestown is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.^[13]

Education

It is in the Marysville Joint Unified School District.^[14]

Gallery

• 
  The Forbestown Masonic Lodge in July 2025
• 
  Sign on the front façade of the Masonic Lodge
• 
  Grave of a German immigrant on the old pioneer cemetery
• 
  Graves on the old pioneer cemetery

See also

• Ponderosa Fire, 2017
• North Complex Fire, 2020