In 1864, brothers Timothy and Thomas Hayes became the owners of the land on which the fort had stood and were instrumental in preserving it in memory and honor of the men who fought the battles. The heirs of the Hayes brothers sold the property to the state in 1907. On September 1, 1908, the large obelisk monument that can be seen from outside the fort was dedicated by a local veteran of the Civil War to the fallen soldiers of Fort Meigs. The Ohio Historical Society reconstructed the fort in the late 1960s, and its museum, featuring numerous artifacts uncovered during excavation in connection with the rebuilding, opened in 1974. It is a National Historic Landmark.