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Forbes

Ghost town · Marin County, California

Petaluma quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1914, 1:62,500)
Petaluma quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1914, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Forbes is a ghost town in Marin County, California. It is one of 8 former communities in Marin County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 40th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Forbes as a historical populated place on the Novato 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 38.0013° N, 122.5378° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleNovato
Elevation12 ft
Nearest living townSanta Venetia, CA
Distance to it1.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1702852
Coordinates38.00131, -122.53775

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Forbes is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Santa Venetia, CA (population 3,937), about 1.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 12 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Forbes?

Forbes is in Marin County, California, at 38.0013, -122.5378.

How many ghost towns are in Marin County?

Marin County, California has 8 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.