The Oshkosh lodge 282 of the Loyal Order of Moose was organized in late 1910 and installed its first officers January 17, 1911. In 1914 they purchased this building from the Sons of Herrmann, a fraternal benefit society for those of German heritage. The building was originally constructed after the fire of April 1875 for the German-English Academy, a private school. Once the Moose had paid their mortgage in 1923, they turned to improving the building. This major remodeling created the current architectural style, replacing wooden outer walls with red brick, and adding artificial stone around the windows and doorways.
In 1939 the Moose sold the building to the Oshkosh Trades and Labor Council, which owned it until the 1980s.