Forest, Washington

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Lewis County, Washington}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Forest, Washington |settlement_type = Unincorporated community |image_skyline = File:Forest, Washington 01.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = Forest, Washington post office, 1919 |pushpin_map = Washington#USA |pushpin_label = Forest  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Washington |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Lewis  |government_footnotes = |government_type = |established_title = |established_date =  |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi =  |population_as_of = |population_footnotes = |population_total = |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi =  |timezone = Pacific (PST) |utc_offset = -8 |timezone_DST = PDT |utc_offset_DST = -7 |elevation_footnotes = {{r|GNIS}} |elevation_ft = 305 |coordinates = {{coord|46|35|56|N|122|51|28|W|type:city_region:US-WA_source:GNIS-enwiki|display=inline,title}}  |postal_code_type = zip code |postal_code = 98532 |area_code = 360 |blank_name = GNIS feature ID |blank_info = 1504954<ref name="GNIS">{{GNIS|1504954}}</ref> |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |footnotes = }} '''Forest''' is an unincorporated community in Lewis County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located on Jackson Highway, between the Port of Chehalis and Washington State Route 508 (SR 508).

==Etymology== Two reliable but differing accounts of the name of Forest exist. One theory is based on old-growth timber that grew in the area, while a second option posits that the moniker was taken after John T. Forrest, an early school teacher in the community.{{r|ITCT}}

==History== The first non-indigenous family to settle the area were the Berniers in the 1850s.<ref name="A101Y">{{cite news |last1=Mittge |first1=Brian |title=After 101 Years, Family still down home on the farm |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2004/04-03/page-50 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=April 3, 2004 |pages=9, 10}}</ref> Forest was founded in the 1890s and was often synonymously referred to as Newaukum Prairie.{{r|GNIS}}{{r|OWG}}{{efn|Newaukum Prairie was its own extensive landform. Reporting of Forest and other communities within the borders of the prairie were often given the blanket name of Newaukum Prairie. See sources throughout the page and connected articles in Lewis County.}} Due to the town's location on Highway 99, Forest was described as a crossroads community where it was often used as a rest stop and a communal gathering spot for nearby residents. The early community once had a grist mill that began after 1875 but burned down in 1913.{{r|ITCT}}

The community was a site for a poor farm in the late 1890s. The site often housed destitute or disabled persons, and may have been a temporary location for persons that ran afoul of the law, as some were described as "inmates". During the Great Depression, the Forest Manor Retirement Home was built, remaining as a poorhouse. The site continued to operate during the 1930s but the building was abandoned before being renovated as a tuberculosis convalescence home in 1943. Known as the Macmillan Sanatorium, it lasted until the mid-1950s until becoming a nursing home; the grounds once again were used for retirement needs in the 1970s. By the 21st century, the building was remodeled and is used as a homeless shelter for women and children.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Pat |title=Some Lewis County People Wound up in Poor House |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/some-lewis-county-people-wound-up-in-poor-house,215188? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=January 6, 2007}}</ref>

An open field located near the town was used as a makeshift airfield in the early 20th century.<ref name="ITCT">{{cite news |last1=Mittge |first1=Brian |title=If Towns Could Talk - Towns Once Bastions Of Highway Commerce |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2002/04-06/page-58 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=April 6, 2002 |page=22}}</ref> The community's sawmill, Newaukum River Lumber Company, burned down in March 1919; the fire was started by a serial arsonist suspected of being part of a larger "arson ring" that caused a multi-year spree of intentional fires in the Pacific Northwest.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elderly Man Held As One In Arson Ring |url=https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SUR19200731-02.1.16 |access-date=December 17, 2025 |work=Seattle Union Record |date=July 31, 1920 |page=4}}</ref> Forest was a location for a permanent Boy Scout campground with a log cabin; construction began in 1920.<ref>{{cite news |title=Permanent Scout Camp |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1920/10-15/page-22 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=October 15, 1920 |page=2}}</ref>

Forest, due to its location near the Newaukum River, has a history of flooding. The community was included in updated FEMA flood maps in 2003, the first revised maps since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mittge |first1=Brian |title=Feds unveil new flood maps |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/feds-unveil-new-flood-maps,250153? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=July 17, 2003}}</ref> The Newaukum Bridge, located in Forest and built in 1929, was replaced in 2011. The construction cut off traffic flow through the town as the highway was partially closed for a year. The replacement was also hampered by costs as well as caution over possible archaeological finds.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Marqise |title=Newaukum Bridge Scheduled to Open Next Month |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/newaukum-bridge-scheduled-to-open-next-month,168802? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=January 14, 2011}}</ref>{{r|CSLIB}}

===Post office=== A post office was created and named in 1896 by the first postmaster, Amanda Monroe.{{efn|Records also list the first postmaster as W.R. Monroe. See sources in section.}} It was moved in 1897 and established in Forest's historic Trodahl store,{{r|ITCT}} remaining in operation until 1934.<ref name="OWG">{{cite book|last=Meany|first=Edmond S.|title=Origin of Washington geographic names|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001444300|year=1923|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=WA |title=Post Offices |publisher=Jim Forte Postal History |access-date=July 31, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306120103/http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=WA |archive-date=March 6, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lewis County - Forest |url=https://jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com/walewis/townsal.html |publisher=Lewis Co. WA GenWeb Project |access-date=March 25, 2025}}</ref> Early service routes from Chehalis were directed through Forest providing mail delivery to towns and communities located on present-day SR 508 or near Mayfield Lake and Riffe Lake.<ref>{{cite news |title=Excellent Mail Facilities |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1901/05-24/page-7/ |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=May 24, 1901 |page=7}}</ref> Joseph Gruener, owner of the mercantile business that became known as the Trodahl store, served as postmaster from 1897 to 1929.<ref name="JGPOC">{{cite news |title=Joseph Greuner, Pioneer Of County, Dies Tuesday |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1936/12-25/page-9 |access-date=June 20, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=December 25, 1936}}</ref>

At the combined post office and store, Greuner was shot in the back of the neck by a local resident, John Bernier, in August 1909. Bernier, and a male accomplice, were inebriated and the attempted murder was suspected to be a robbery of Gruener's store, though nothing was noted as being taken. The two men were arrested without incident, still intoxicated.<ref>{{cite news |title=Another Attempt At Murder |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-news-examiner/1909/08-25 |access-date=March 27, 2025 |work=The Centralia News-Examiner |date=August 25, 1909 |pages=1–2}}</ref>

==Geography== Forest is located at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Newaukum River. The area is referred to as a crossroads community due its central proximity at a crossing of the Jackson Highway (previously part of U.S. Route 99) and an arterial that leads to Alpha and SR 508. The crossing was known as Stinky's Corner and Trodahl's Corner. Forest is situated between Chehalis to the north, and the communities of Klaus and Mary's Corner to the south.{{r|A101Y}}{{r|ITCT}}<ref name="HABDR">{{cite news |last1=Trout Blinks |first1=Ann |title=Horse-and-buggy days recalled by Chehalis woman |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/1994/02-05/page-19 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=February 5, 1994 |page=D1}}</ref>

==Arts and culture==

===Historic buildings and sites===

====Forest Grange==== thumb|200px|Forest Grange Hall, 2024 The Forest Grange, No. 153, was organized in 1904 along with granges in Alpha, Ethel, Silver Creek, St. Urban, and the Hope grange in Winlock. Though recognized for a time as the first granges formed in Lewis County, two granges had been structured in 1874.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Pat |title=Home, home on the Grange |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/home-home-on-the-grange,217156? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=October 28, 2006}}</ref> The grange celebrated a 100th anniversary in conjunction with its fellow halls in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |title=Grange members to dedicate remodeled fair building at this year's fair |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/grange-members-to-dedicate-remodeled-fair-building-at-this-years-fair,242878? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 20, 2004}}</ref> The social organization was first known as the Forest Union Grange in 1916, changing the name approximately 20 years later. At the dedication and opening of a new {{convert|40|x|100|ft|abbr=on}} hall in 1916, the grange counted 135 charter members.<ref>{{cite news |title=Forest Grange Fine New Hall |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1916/10-27/page-8 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=October 20, 1916 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Forest Grangers Set 50th Birthday Sunday |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1966/01-28/page-1 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=January 20, 1966 |page=1}}</ref> {{As of|2024}}, the Forest Grange and its hall is active.

====Trodahl store==== thumb|200px|Greuner Store and post office, {{circa}} 1915 At the intersection of North Fork Road and Jackson Highway is the Trodahl store, an historic building first constructed in the 1880s and used as a stage stop and inn. The structure was expanded in the 1890s with an addition of an attached residence. In the 20th century the location began to be utilized as a general store first known as Greeners,{{r|HABDR}} after the Greuner family, until 1929.{{r|JGPOC}} The location was renamed after the Trodahl family that operated the business until the 1980s, when it closed after financial hardship. The site, in 1993, became a convenience mart, continuing as such into the next century.{{r|ITCT}}<ref name="CSLIB">{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Marqise |title=Convenience Store Left Isolated by Bridge Closure |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/convenience-store-left-isolated-by-bridge-closure,177667? |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 11, 2010}}</ref>

==Parks and recreation== East of Forest on Centralia-Alpha Road near the North Fork Newuakum River is the Thousand Trails campground. The site was founded in 1969 and opened in 1972, becoming the first Thousand Trails resort ever built.<ref>{{cite news |last1=VanTuyl |first1=Aaron |title=A Thousand Trails for 35 YearsParty Today: Membership Camping Started in Chehalis |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/a-thousand-trails-for-35-yearsparty-today-membership-camping-started-in-chehalis,209105? |access-date=October 29, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=August 11, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Thousand Trails Concludes Year-Long 50th Anniversary Celebration Year Filled with Events, Giveaways and Time Capsules |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thousand-trails-concludes-year-long-50th-anniversary-celebration-year-filled-with-events-giveaways-and-time-capsules-300977241.html |access-date=October 29, 2024 |work=PR Newswire |date=December 19, 2019}}</ref>

==Education== thumb|Forest Schoolhouse, c. 1911-1912 Forest was home to a two-room schoolhouse in the early-1900s and the building contained a belfry.{{r|ITCT}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Swayne |first1=Aleta |title=Reminesence Of Forest School |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1974/01-04/page-3 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=January 4, 1974 |page=3}}</ref> Originally, the school held all classes up to 8th grade in one room, later partitioned into four sections.{{r|HABDR}} Enrollment numbers in the school's early days were moderate, with a report of 70 students in 1911.{{r|FSGP}}

A district consolidation occurred in 1910, creating the Forest School district No. 205. The following year, the Forest school, due to its location, length of school year, and well-regarded teachers, became the center point of a concentration of smaller schoolhouses in the Newaukum Valley. The school was given a special mention of high praise by the state's Department of Education.<ref name="FSGP">{{cite news |title=Forest School Given Praise |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-weekly-chronicle/1911/09-06/page-4 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Centralia Weekly Chronicle |date=September 6, 1911 |page=4}}</ref>

In 1926, an $8,000 bond to construct a new school building was passed<ref>{{cite news |title=New $8000 Forest School |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1927/12-24/page-1 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=December 24, 1926 |page=1}}</ref> but was rejected the following year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rejects Forest Bond Issue |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1927/02-04/page-22 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=February 4, 1927 |page=11}}</ref> The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a $3,500 gym on the grounds in 1937.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gym For Forest |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1937/01-22/page-12 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=January 22, 1937 |page=4}}</ref> The original schoolhouse was destroyed by fire in 1946, though the gym and teacher's cottage were saved.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fire Destroys Forest School |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1946/04-18/page-1 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=April 18, 1946 |page=1}}</ref> After the loss of the West Side School in Chehalis during the 1949 Olympia earthquake, students traveled to Forest for their education.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Side Elementary School to Disappear From Scene After Almost 40 Years Service |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1950/12-22/page-1 |access-date=September 11, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=December 22, 1950 }}</ref> With the formal closure of the school by 1950,{{r|WNITT}} the grounds were still used, especially for a children's handicap education program in the mid-to-late 1950s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Handicapped Classes Open |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1955/11-30/page-9 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=November 30, 1955 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=To Be Center |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1958/08-19/page-24 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=August 19, 1958 |page=12}}</ref> By 1966, the remaining structures had been available for rent and were officially put up for sale.<ref name="WNITT">{{cite news |title=What's News In The Twin Cities - Buildings Offered |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1966/07-14/page-4 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=July 14, 1966 |page=4}}</ref> The grounds of the Forest schoolhouse were listed as surplus in 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=Property Not Needed |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1972/03-02/page-1 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=March 2, 1972 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=News Briefs - Meeting Changed |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1972/04-13/page-16 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=April 13, 1972 |page=13}}</ref>

==Government and politics== {| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;" |+ Presidential Elections Results |- bgcolor=lightgrey ! Year ! Republican ! Democratic ! Third parties |- | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''2008'''<ref name="LC2008E">{{cite web|title=November 04, 2008 General Election - Lewis County |url=https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20081104/lewis/precincts-1.html |website=Results.Vote.WA |access-date=December 31, 2025}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''65.7%''' ''350'' | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|32.8% ''175'' | style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.5% ''8'' |- | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''2012'''<ref name="LC2012E">{{cite web|title=November 06, 2012 General Election - Lewis County |url=https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/lewis/precincts-1.html |website=Results.Vote.WA |access-date=December 31, 2025}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''70.6%''' ''367'' | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|27.9% ''145'' | style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.5% ''8'' |- | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''2016'''<ref name="LC2016E">{{cite web |title=November 8, 2016 General Election - Lewis County |url=https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20161108/lewis/precincts-1.html |website=Results.Vote.WA |access-date=December 31, 2025}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''74.6%''' ''397'' | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|19.0% ''101'' | style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.4% ''34'' |- | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''2020'''<ref name="LC2020E">{{cite web|title=November 3, 2020 General Election - Lewis County |url=https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20201103/lewis/precincts-60513.html |website=Results.Vote.WA |access-date=July 20, 2021}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''75.2%''' ''530'' | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|22.7% ''160'' | style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.6% ''11'' |- | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''2024'''<ref name="LC2024E">{{cite web |title=November 5, 2024 General Election - Lewis County |url=https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20241105/lewis/precincts-162430.html |website=Results.Vote.WA |access-date=December 11, 2025}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''71.9%''' ''501'' | style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|25.1% ''175'' | style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|3.0% ''21'' |- |}

===Politics=== Forest maintains a separate voting precinct from neighboring Chehalis and is recognized as being majority Republican and conservative.<ref>{{cite news |last1=MacCracken |first1=Gordon |title=This is no Mickey Mouse operation - or is it? |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/1998/11-25/page-5 |access-date=June 5, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 25, 1998 |page=5}}</ref>

The 2020 election included votes for the Libertarian Party candidate and there were 4 votes for write-in candidates.{{r|LC2020E}} In the 2024 election, there were 3 votes cast for write-in candidates and 8 votes were tallied for Robert F. Kennedy Jr..{{r|LC2024E}}

==Infrastructure== Around the turn of the 20th century, Forest was connected to Chehalis and Jackson Prairie, an area around present-day Mary's Corner, via a gravel and plank road;<ref>{{cite news |title=Over The County |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1900/03-09/page-4 |access-date=June 5, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=March 9, 1900 |page=2}}</ref> the thoroughfare became part of Highway 99 and Jackson Highway. A gas pipeline was proposed to be built through the community in 1964.<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed Route Of Petroleum Pipeline In County Disclosed |url=https://www.newspaperarchives.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1964/07-14/page-1 |access-date=June 5, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=July 14, 1964 |page=1}}</ref>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Populated places in Lewis County, Washington Category:Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington Category:Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)