When the Civil War began in 1861, Minnesota was the first state to offer and send troops to aid the Union cause. In April 1861, this building was converted to use as a recruiting station. Recruits from the Wasioja station, numbering over 200, formed the nucleus of Company C of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. They were sworn in by Colonel James George, who later led them at the Battle of Chickamauga. Built in 1855 by Colonel George, a Mexican War veteran, to serve as his law office and as a bank, the building was the meeting center of the village in the late 1850s. In the years following the Civil War, it was used as a jail, office, storeroom, post office, and private residence. The Dodge County Historical Society purchased the building in the early 1960s in order to preserve what was by that time the only remaining Civil War recruiting station left in Minnesota. In 1987, the Society undertook a restoration project to return the structure to its original appearance. The project was completed in July 1988, at the time of the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The recruiting station stands today as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the men of Minnesota who fought and died to preserve the Union.
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