Wasioja Heritage Partnership: Building a Town, Again
Wasioja Heritage Partnership: Building a Town, Again

At Bluestem, we love multi-phase projects that build enthusiasm over time. One of our recent favorites has been the Wasioja Heritage Partnership, a collaboration between Dodge County and the Dodge County Historical Society, which resulting in our interpretive planning project in 2019.

The village of Wasioja, a short drive from Mantorville in Dodge County, was built on former Dakota land in the years following the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. European settlers used the nearby limestone to build a church, school, homes, a seminary, and an office that would serve as a Civil War Recruiting Station just a few years after it was built. While the town failed, the buildings endured. Multiple projects are underway to return Wasioja to its early aspirations as a destination.

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Nancy Wagner
Celebrating fundraising!
Celebrating fundraising!

$1,589,326!

Since our founding ten years ago, Bluestem has raised more than $1.5 million for our clients for history projects. The grants have funded everything from historic preservation to exhibit development, to smaller projects like microfilming newspaper collections and fire mitigation/safety for historic buildings.

Minnesota cultural heritage organizations are fortunate to have the Minnesota Cultural Heritage (Legacy) grants program that funds so much good work around the state. We have secured many Legacy grants for our clients, but also work on many foundation and government grants as well.

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Grant WritingNancy Wagner