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 into a recruiting station, and more than 200 recruits from Wasioja formed the nucleus of Company C of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. They were sworn in by Colonel James George, a Mexican War veteran who had built the structure in 1855 to serve as his law office and as a bank, and who later led them at the Battle of Chickamauga. In the late 1850s, the building was the meeting center of the village, and in the years after the Civil War it served as a jail, office, storeroom, post office, and private residence. By the early 1960s it was the only remaining Civil War recruiting station left in Minnesota, and after its purchase by the Dodge County Historical Society, a restoration begun in 1987 returned it to its original appearance by July 1988, the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It stands as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the men of Minnesota who fought and died to preserve the Union.