Forest, Ontario

Forest, Ontario is a town in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. About 3,000 people live in the town. It the biggest town in Lambton Shores. The town was an important lumber town. It even had its own train stop. Forest is now a tourist attraction. It has trails and camp facilities.

History
Forest is located on land that was once dense forest. When the Grand Trunk Railway was built, the station for the town was named for the dense forest. In 1859, the first post office was then named Forest.

Industry
The industry of the town was first based on the large amount of fruit growing in the area. There was once a canning factory and a basket factory in Forest. In more recent years, the town has become a dormitory community for the city of Sarnia and, to a lesser extent, London, Ontario. The large tourism area along the shores of nearby Lake Huron also helps local businesses. Several small manufacturing plants supporting the automobile industry have also opened in the past few years.

Population
In 2001, the last year that Forest was a national census unit, the town had a population of 2,857. The average age of the people who live in Forest was about 42. This is five years older than the average for the entire province. The average earnings of the people living in Forest was $27,902 (CAD) in the year 2000. In 2006, the local census unit was changed to the town of Lambton Shores. In 2021, the town of Forest had a population of 2,429.

Education
Forest has a high school, North Lambton Secondary School. The school has a large gymnasium and cafeteria. It also has access to washroom and meal preparation facilities. Forest has two separate school systems. It has a public school system, Kinnwood Central Public School, and a private school system, St. John Fisher. Both systems have elementary schools.

Recreation and tourism
There are many recreational facilities in the town. These include an enclosed arena/community center with baseball and soccer fields, a lawn bowling club and public tennis courts. There is also an agricultural society with grounds used for a fall fair and campsites. A privately owned golf course is located in the town, Forest Golf and Country Hotel. There are also more than a dozen other golf courses within a  drive.

Forest has a natural amphitheatre in the conservation area in the south part of the town. Each year the people of the town act in a religious play called The Promise in this amphitheatre. They have done the play since 1995. The stage of the amphitheatre is on a small island. The audience sits on the surrounding hillsides.

Category:Towns in Ontario