Wasioja saw a building boom in the late 1850s. One of the first buildings erected was a small limestone building that served as an office for two town founders: Captain James George, a Mexican War veteran- turned-lawyer, and his partner, Curtis Moses, a banker. Their office quickly became the center of town affairs.
After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey promised President Abraham Lincoln 1,000 recruits from Minnesota. When Captain George heard of that pledge, he vowed to recruit a company of 100 from Wasioja and Dodge County. To fill his company, he turned to the brand-new seminary in Wasioja. It is said that after a day of particularly patriotic speeches, many of the students iand some teachers marched from the seminary to Captain George's law office, which served as a recruiting station.
These students along with citizens from Mantorville and Wasioja formed the core of Company C of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry - led first by Captain George before he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. George's daughter Helen acted as the "social media" of the day, corresponding by mail with Wasioja soldiers about town happenings, and reporting back on the war to loved ones at home. The building remained a recruiting station for the duration of the war. Wasioja sent 104 young men to fight. Nine died in the war.
The building served by turns as a home, an office, and as storage for an auto parts dealer. The Dodge County Historical Society bought the building in 1960. In 1961, it was dedicated as the Civil War Centennial Project. In 2018, exterior rehabilitation was completed.