Breastworks at Oakwood Lakes were probably built by two companies of the 2nd Infantry under Capt. D. Davidson in June-July, 1859, with parapets then about 5 ft. high, a log house once standing in the center before it was later razed for firewood, and cannon mounted in the northeast and southwest corners. Lt. Joseph H. Porter probably bivouacked here with his detachment of Brackett's Battalion of Minnesota in the winter of 1864-65 to keep Indians from drifting back into Minnesota. The Sioux called these lakes Te-tonka-ha, meaning Place of the Great Summer Lodge, probably because they made seasonal visits to live on the abundant fish and game here, and about a mile north are several large mounds presumed to contain many of their burials. The first white men to visit this area were J.N. Nicollet and J.C. Fremont, who wrote in their journal on July 8, 1838, that wood was found on every tongue of land separating the lakes, the landscape had grandeur and beauty, the soil was excellent, the trees were of pretty growth, and several villages could be established on the shores, though no one was living there.