Wasioja's founders had big plans for their new town. They built a church and schoolhouse within a few years of arriving, and soon turned their eyes to a secondary school. Wasioja School offered grades one through eight, but the Free Will Baptists proposed building a secondary school that would prepare students for college.
After two years of delays, the Minnesota Seminary opened for classes on November 12, 1860 (and was renamed Northwestern College by January 1862). The school fulfilled hopes immediately, enrolling 126 students on its first day. Students came from Wasioja, Dodge County and beyond. Students from farther distances boarded with local families.
The success would be short-lived. Enrollment collapsed suddenly in the spring of 1861. Professor Clinton Cilley, who taught languages and mathematics at the school, answered President Lincoln's call for volunteers to serve in the Union Army. On a day of stirring speeches, ten seminary students along with Professor Cilley, marched to James George's law office, which served as a recruiting station throughout the war.
The school would never fully recover from the loss of its students and teachers to the Civil War. The Free Will Baptists operated the school for seven years. In the fall of 1868, it was reopened as the Groveland Academy with 89 students. In 1873, it changed leadership again and was renamed the Wesleyan Methodist Seminary. The school closed its doors for good in 1894, when free public high schools opened in Dodge Center, Mantorville, and Kasson.
On the evening of November 18, 1905, the empty building erupted in flames. Residents from Wasioja and miles beyond watched helplessly as the fire devoured the dry roof and interior. In 1950, the building and property were transferred to the care of Dodge County.