Forestville — Est. 1808

In 1808, Jehiel Moore founded Walnut Falls and built a cabin and saw mill on Walnut Creek near the falls. In 1809 he brought his family and erected a grist mill near the saw mill. The village was later changed to Forestville at the suggestion of George Love. The first blacksmith was Samuel Swan, followed by another, Daniel Barber.

In 1812 James Bennett opened the first inn and a section was devoted to the sale of general merchandise. Tanneries were operated by Eleazer Gardner and Samuel J. Smith. Other early merchants in the area were: William Holbrook, Albert Camp and William Colvill; John Hurlbert, a blacksmith and wagonmaker, came in 1824; and Thomas G. Ellis, a cabinet maker, in 1831.

In 1851 the last section of the New York and Erie Railroad was completed through Forestville. A log schoolhouse was built in 1816. In 1865 a Union Free School was organized — the first in the county.

Also in 1866 was the chartering of the Forestville Free Academy. A teacher’s training class was a feature of the school. It is said that Forestville furnished the lawyers for Dunkirk and the teachers for Fredonia.

Through the years there have been active mills, a canning factory, a stepladder factory, cheese factories, an aluminum products business, and a company which manufactures small auto parts. The village was incorporated as Forestville on April 4, 1848.