Home Town Spotlight: History Comes Alive At Forest City Stockade [VIDEO]

FOREST CITY -- This week in our Home Town Spotlight series history comes to life at the Forest City Stockades.

Organizer Bob Hermann says the history of the stockade began in 1862 as a way for pioneers to take shelter during the Native American uprising.

"A lot of the citizens were leaving this area that lived out on the frontier and a group of them stopped here and wanted to stay here but knew they needed to come up with some type of protection," says Hermann.

Hermann has been fascinated with this time period since he was a boy. In 1976 he got involved with a group of local residents to rebuilt the stockade to it's original glory.

"We are pioneers at heart, so for us it's easier to live this part when you have a group that thinks and pull their thoughts together," says Hermann.

Built almost totally by local donations, the stockade grown from a large fence to a small village that attracts thousands of tourists each year.

"During our summer event on the third week of August we have 5,000 people come and visit us in just two days," says Hermann.

Hermann says the stockade stands as a reminder that unless history lives in the present, it will not live in the future.