A new project near Memorial Hall in Fort Jennings will not only honor veterans but also revitalize the community.Â
Freedom Square is a project that will occupy the space to the right of Memorial Hall and will include additional parking, a grassy area with a shelterhouse, seating, restrooms, a riverwalk sidewalk, commemorative monuments and plagues, and an unknown soldier area. The unknown soldier area will honor 12 unregistered soldiers who lost their lives during the war of 1812 in Fort Jennings.Â
"We've been trying to find a way to honor those soldiers because they were buried here, but no one knows exactly where and who they are," said Fort Jennings Mayor James Smith. "So we want to incorporate some of the unknown soldiers with an exhibit in Freedom Square."
Mayor Smith said the new project will help bring the community together.
"We're really excited about it," said Mayor Smith. "It's going to be a really nice addition to the community. I think it's going to be something that people will enjoy getting to use in the future and it will be very helpful for us to use for Fort Fest because our whole Fort Fest is themed towards supporting and honoring veterans. So this just kind of goes along with it. So it's going to kind of be a nice place to include for that as well."
The Freedom Square committee is still in the process of designing the project and is looking to begin fundraising. The project is expected to be finished within two years.Â
