The Forest City Stockade project is a lasting memorial of the Meeker County Bicentennial Commission. It seemed only natural that the Stockade, so vital to this area's early history, should be commemorated.
The Stockade stands near its original site on land purchased from Carl Jensen. Its dimensions correspond to those of the original structure, measuring 120 feet square with 1,200 logs that form the 10-foot-high outer walls. The center cabin was constructed and furnished to match the style of the 1860s.
Volunteer workers of the Forest City Stockade Committee are responsible for all of the design, demolition, transportation, construction and reconstruction, fund raising and maintenance. Youths under the N.Y.C. Program and the 682nd Engineer Battalion of the Minnesota National Guard also assisted with much of the construction.
The Stockade was built almost totally from funds donated by Meeker County citizens. Many of the contributions were for $6.40, the price of one log. The community continues to support the Stockade project as they did in 1976, with donations of log buildings, building materials and supplies, gifts, antiques, as well as monetary contributions from Meeker County businesses, organizations and individuals. Without this fine response from the citizens of Meeker County, this project could not have been completed.
The Stockade is a memorial to the past and a reminder to the future. We must remember the brave pioneers and the hardships they bore in settling this land. But also, we must not forget the American Indians, who were native to this land and were deprived of many of the rights that we hold sacred today. Let us honor these people, who struggled for, and built the United States of America.
