Near this spot in 1865, a rock fort was built as protection from Indians through a cooperative effort in which each man who owned a city lot built one rod of the wall. The wall was 3 1/2 feet at the base, 12 feet high, and 1 foot at the top, with portholes at intervals and wooden gates on the east side. Men stood guard at all times and gave signals using a white flag by day and a drum by night. After 1878, the bell atop this monument hung in Academy Hall, where it rang for church, school, and other occasions.