Near Preston in Fillmore County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Meighen Store

Photographed by McGhiever, October 5, 2025

1. Meighen Store Marker

Inscription.

Horse medicine, school slates, eyeglasses, flour - all might have been for sale or trade in the log cabin store opened in 1853 by Felix Meighen and Robert Foster, boyhood friends from Pennsylvania. As the only store in Fillmore County, it did a thriving business and also served as a social center for the new town of Forestville. The stagecoach station stood just beyond the store, and up the hill was the schoolhouse, located now by its foundation ruins.

In 1856, Meighen and Foster built the present store, constructed from the first brick made in the county. Although Foster withdrew from the partnership in 1868, the Meighen family kept the store open until 1910.

Some of the original trees still forest the Meighen homestead area; the family set aside land about a mile past the store as a park, and placed picnic tables for public use along the river bank. The Meighen store, complete with its 1910 inventory of merchandise, is now part of Forestville State Park, which includes more than 2,000 acres.

Erected 1970 by Minnesota Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Minnesota Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1853.

Location.

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43° 38.571′ N, 92° 12.882′ W. Marker is near Preston, Minnesota, in Fillmore County. It can be reached from County Road 118, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21899 Co Rd 118, Preston MN 55965, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Minnesota

and in Greater Rochester.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Driftless Area — Bluff Country.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: South Branch of the Root River (within shouting distance of this marker); Bridges at Forestville (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Forestville (within shouting distance of this marker); Meighen Icehouse (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bridges (about 300 feet away); Forestville Sawmill (about 400 feet away); Forestville (about 500 feet away); Brick Schoolhouse (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Preston.

More about this marker. The marker is located within Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, at the Historic Forestville Site. The historic Carnegie Steel Bridge on County 118 is closed to vehicle traffic, so there is no parking if the site is accessed from the north.

Photographed by Liz Koele, March 9, 2022

2. Meighen Store Marker

Photographed by J. J. Prats, March 9, 2022

3. Meighen Store Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2022, by Liz Koele of St. Paul, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 803 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 26, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2. submitted on August 31, 2022, by Liz Koele of St. Paul, Minnesota. 3. submitted on September 12, 2022, by Liz Koele of St. Paul, Minnesota. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.