The Black Forest is named such for the high density of Ponderosa Pines located in the area. There is evidence that the Black Forest area was occupied by Native Americans at least 800 years ago; the dense Ponderosa Pines provided them with protection, fuel, and timber.

When American pioneers began to settle the region in the late 1850s the Black Forest became an important center of activity, primarily as a source of scarce timber. Although lumbering continued sporadically through the 1950s, farming and ranching had become the dominant activities by the 1880s. A wide variety of crops was raised, including cattle, sheep, alfalfa, wheat, corn, hay and beans. Potatoes, however, were the agricultural product for which the Black Forest area became most renowned. The drought of the 1920s and the Depression of the 1930s combined to eliminate most types of agriculture in the planning area. By the 1920s the area was mostly consolidated into large ranches. Some of these remain today.

The Black Forest Preservation Plan was developed in 1974. Although some newer suburban subdivisions have been created within the boundaries  of Black Forest such as Flying Horse Ranch, the community of Black Forest still retains a rural image and legacy. Some of this legacy is in the form of remaining historic sites and structures.*
**Source: the Black Forest Preservation Plan