Wayfarrow

Forest City

Ghost town · Howard County, Iowa

Cresco NW quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1981, 1:24,000)
Cresco NW quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1981, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Forest City is a ghost town in Howard County, Iowa. It is one of 2 former communities in Howard County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 55th among the 79 Iowa counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Forest City as a historical populated place on the Cresco NW topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 43.4852° N, 92.2382° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleCresco NW
Elevation1,187 ft
Nearest living townLime Springs, IA
Distance to it3.4 miles
GNIS feature ID1948729
Coordinates43.48524, -92.23822

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Forest City is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Lime Springs, IA (population 410), about 3.4 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,187 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Forest City?

Forest City is in Howard County, Iowa, at 43.4852, -92.2382.

How many ghost towns are in Howard County?

Howard County, Iowa has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.