Wasioja is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Wasioja Township, Dodge County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The community is located near the junction of Dodge County Roads 9 and 16. The South Branch Middle Fork of the

Zumbro River The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, acces ...

and Dodge Center Creek meet at Wasioja. Nearby places include Dodge Center, Mantorville, and Kasson.

History

Wasioja was settled in 1854 and

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1856. A post office was established at Wasioja in 1856, and remained in operation until 1911. Wasioja is the native Sioux-language name for the

. By 1860, the community's population had reached 1,000, its economy driven by limestone quarries, lumber, and agriculture. In 1860 the

Minnesota Seminary Minnesota ( ) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and Nor ...

was opened on the outskirts of town. The town's fortunes were ruined by three separate events that led to its abandonment by most of its population. Its male population was decimated by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, it was bypassed by the railroad in 1866, in favor of a southern route, and it failed to become the county seat of Dodge County. By 1870 the population had declined to 800.

Historic district

Most of the community is contained within the bounds of a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. Historically significant buildings include the Wasioja Baptist Church, Wasioja School, a Civil War recruiting station, and the stone Andrew Doig House. Also of historic significance are the ruins of the seminary, now a local park, and the limestone quarries on the outskirts of town.

References

Unincorporated communities in Dodge County, Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Historic districts in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Dodge County, Minnesota {{DodgeCountyMN-geo-stub

History

Historic district

See also

References