Blood & Biohazard Cleanup Near Clay's Crossing Forest, VA

Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bedford County, Virginia, and a suburban part of the metropolitan Lynchburg area, made up largely of subdivisions carved from and around surrounding farms and woodlands.

As of the 2020 census, Forest had a population of 11,709, up from 9,106 in 2010 and 8,006 in 2000.

Census QuickFacts reports 5,358 households in Forest for 2020-2024, averaging 2.49 persons per household, and 96.0% of residents age 25 and over are high school graduates or higher.

The CDP covers a total area of 13.9 square miles, of which 13.7 square miles is land and 0.12 square miles is water.

Forest is home to Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's private retreat: Jefferson inherited the property in 1773 from his father-in-law John Wayles, designed its octagonal house in 1806 during his presidency, and deeded it in 1824 to his grandson Francis Wayles Eppes; the house is now a National Historic Landmark and museum.

Forest is served by Jefferson Forest High School, home of the Cavaliers with roughly 1,400 students, and by Forest Middle School, home of the Knights with roughly 1,100 students.

Other schools in the community include Forest Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and New London Academy, one of the oldest continuously operating public schools in Virginia's history.

Apocalypse Ale Works, located in Forest, was the first microbrewery to open in Bedford County.

The area along U.S. Route 221 from the post office to the Forest Library is generally regarded as the central part of the community.

Growth in Forest has been driven in part by the expansion of nearby Liberty University in Lynchburg and by Bedford County investments in waterline infrastructure.