Forestville, Minnesota: The Stagecoach Town the Railroad Missed

01How Forestville Began

Settlers reached this stretch of southeastern Minnesota in the early 1850s. According to Warren Upham's Minnesota Geographic Names, Forestville township was first settled in 1852. The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) says Major Foster scouted land that year and made claims for himself and his family. The MNHS historical marker says the Henry, Foster and Meighen families all staked claims near the Root River in those early years.

Felix Meighen is the name that matters most. He arrived first and built a log general store in 1853. He stocked it with $700 of goods from Galena that October, and he and Robert Foster founded the business as a log cabin.

The town takes its name from Forest Henry, the county's first probate judge. Upham records that Henry settled there in 1854 and was one of the proprietors of the village, which was platted that same year. He also served as the first postmaster, and the post office opened in 1855. The township was organized that year as well.

02A Crossroads on the Road to Dubuque

Forestville sat on the stagecoach route between St. Paul and Dubuque, Iowa, and travelers needed places to eat, sleep and buy supplies. The town grew to meet them. According to MNHS, it came to include a blacksmith shop, a cabinet shop, sawmills, farms, stores, gristmills and hotels. The marker adds a distillery, a cemetery and a schoolhouse to the list of former sites in the park.

By 1860, Forestville had a township government, more than 150 inhabitants and about 20 houses. The Star Tribune reports two hotels and two general stores at the peak, though that detail rests on a single source. The Meighen store was rebuilt in brick, and the brick store and house were completed in 1857, according to MNHS.

In 1864, Minnesota Civil War recruits camped briefly at Forestville. Four years later, Robert Foster left the store partnership.

03What Happened to Forestville?

The answer is 1868. That year the Southern Minnesota Railroad ran north of town, through Wykoff and Spring Valley, and left Forestville off the line. Many residents and businesses followed the tracks to the railroad towns. The population fell to 68 by 1870 and 55 by 1880.

The Meighens moved the other way. They bought property as neighbors left. They also took farms through foreclosure on loans and store credit, until they owned most of the town. By 1889 the family owned the entire town, and by 1897 Thomas Meighen alone held 1,600 acres.

Forestville was by then a company town in all but name, and it was shrinking. In 1902 the new rural free delivery system closed the post office. The site manager told the Star Tribune that falling store traffic after rural delivery led to the store's closure. The Meighens moved to Preston in 1905, and the general store closed for good in 1910. Forestville stopped being a town. It continued as a farm.

04The Family That Kept It

Thomas J. Meighen was born in Forestville in 1855, the same year the post office opened. He became a banker and a Populist politician, and he ran for governor in 1902. According to MNHS, he wanted the townsite made into a park. Felix Meighen, the storekeeper who started it all, lived from 1812 to 1896.

Because one family held the land for decades, much of the village was preserved rather than demolished. MNHS holds the Thomas J. Meighen and Family Papers, which span 1837 to 1985, along with a glass plate negative collection. Gregory J. Hellweg's A History of the Meighens of Forestville (1979) covers the family's story.

05What Remains of Forestville Today

Abandoned Forestville is now a restored townsite within Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. The Meighen store, the family residence, a granary and a carriage barn remain, according to the Star Tribune. MNHS says the townsite became part of the state park in 1963. Other sources give different dates for the park's origins, ranging from a 1941 land transfer to a 1949 legislative authorization. The townsite and Meighen store were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Post Bulletin reports that MNHS acquired the five original buildings in 1978, though that appears in only one source.

Historic Forestville has operated as an MNHS historic site, but its future has been uncertain. Reports from 2025 say staffed tours ended on September 1 because of an MNHS budget deficit. The grounds were described as open for free, self-guided exploration from dawn to dusk. Check with MNHS before you go, since those reports are recent and conditions may have changed. The village's population is zero.