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.

The Civil War Recruiting Station, owned by the Dodge County Historical Society, has undergone a transformation (see photo). MacDonald and Mack Architects have just completed a Conditions Assessment for the Wasioja School House (also owned by the DCHS), and will soon begin work on construction documents.

The Wasioja Seminary operated as a school for more than 20 years before burning in 1905. The remaining ruins are now owned by Dodge County. A stabilization project is underway. The Andrew Doig House, a privately own house, contributes to the heritage site as well.

In 2019, all these properties were examined together in the 2019 interpretive planning project. Our Interpretive theme “Hope and creation, sacrifice and loss,” captures the story of Wasioja. It will serve as the basis for onsite interpretation, including the next step – a heritage trail planned for 2021.