As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, volunteers are building a prop house near Wasioja to play a key part in a battlefield reenactment this summer.
On June 24, 25 and 26, Wasioja Civil War Days will be held on property belonging of John and Rita Carroll near Wasioja, off County Road 16. Already, 500 re-enacters from Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Winnipeg are registered for the event.
The Friends of Wasioja will reenact parts of three battles of the war — First Bull Run/Manassas; Chickamauga/Snodgrass Hill, where many Dodge County men served; and Appomattox, where General Lee surrendered to General Grant.
Tom Jensch of the Friends of Wasioja, his business partner, Bruce Gross, and son, Daine Jensch, built the prop house last July with design help from Phil Cudd of Wisconsin.
The building is modeled after two houses: the Henry House, which sat on one of the strategic hills of the first Battle of Bull Run, and the home owned by Wilbur McClean in Appomattox, where Lee surrendered.
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When it represents the Henry House, the two-story house will have a small porch, one chimney, and wooden siding.Then the siding will be removed to reveal a brick façade, another chimney will be added, and a large front porch will be attached to the building so it more closely resembles the McClean house.
The structure was built to about a two-thirds scale, said Jensch, and measures 12 feet wide by 24 feet long.
The house was built with shingles from old barns in the area, windows from a demolished neighborhood home that had been built in the mid-1800s, and discounted new materials from Arrow Building Center of Kasson.
After the events, the house will be dismantled, organizer John Kvasnicka told the Dodge County Commissioners at a meeting last July. The commissioners waived the building permit fees for the structure.
Jensch said a group out of Illinois representing 10 to 15 generals are scheduled to participate. These men coordinate the commanders of attending regiments. They lay out the battle logistics, including troop movements and casualties.
A schedule of events preceding the reenactments, the camp layout, and more information may be seen on the group’s website at civilwarmn.com.
