Location
Okabena is in Jackson County OKABENA, a city in sections 7 and 8 of West Heron Lake Township, was founded in September 1879, taking the Dakota name of the lake, which means, as before noted, "the nesting place of herons." It was incorporated as a village and separated from the township on July 30, 1938; its post office operated 1880-84 and reestablished in 1892. In 1897 Henry J. Schumacher purchased the townsite, platted it, and built a hotel; he sold the townsite in 1905 to Ferdinand Milbrath and his son, Edward. The Milbraths purchased the Okebena Clay Works, a brick and tile manufacturing company begun in 1897 and incorporated in 1916 with Edward Milbrath, president. From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
