Windom Park

Windom Park: A Neighborhood Steeped in History

Surrounded by lovely Victorian-era homes, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, this city block is adorned by bright perennial gardens, a gazebo, and a historic sculptural fountain where park visitors can bask in the sunlight alongside the iconic Wenonah statue and fountain. The fountain’s center is a turn-of-the century bronze statue of Princess Wenonah (“first born daughter”), the Dakota Indian chief’s daughter who legend says is the namesake of Winona. The statue stands on a pedestal, with spraying pelicans and turtles surrounding her in the pond. The fountain in Windom Park was donated in 1900 by W. J. Landon in memory of his wife Ida Cone Landon.

William Windom arrived in Winona in 1855 as a young lawyer and quickly made his mark. Windom lived just across the street from the park in the 1870s, helped draft the city’s original town charter, and went on to represent Minnesota in both the state house and senate, ultimately serving as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Garfield and Harrison.

A Neighborhood Built by Winona’s Elite

The homes surrounding Windom Park weren’t built by just anyone; they were the showpiece residences of Winona’s most powerful and prosperous citizens. Most were constructed between 1856 and 1900, during the city’s booming early settlement era. Look closely at the north side of the park along West Fifth Street: the pavement there was once laid over wooden blocks to muffle the sound of horses and carriages passing by.

The secret to all this wealth? Lumber. Winona was a thriving hub of the timber industry, and the men who owned and managed its great lumber mills chose the streets around Windom Park to build their grand mansions. A few highlights worth looking for:

• 211 Huff Street — Built in 1856 by Henry Huff, one of Winona’s earliest property owners and the man behind the Huff House Hotel. His elegant Italian Villa-style home reflects the ambitions of Winona’s founding generation.
• 275 Harriet Street — The 1890 Queen Anne-style mansion of Abner F. Hodgins, part-owner of the Youmans Brothers Lumber Company. Its ornate details are a hallmark of the era’s exuberant architectural style.
• 276 West Fifth Street — Home of H.S. Bolcom of the Bolcom Lumber Company, built around 1870, right across from the park he and his neighbors called their own.
• 328 West Fifth Street — Built around 1898 for H.S. Youmans, co-owner of the Youmans Brothers Lumber Company, with a prime view of the park.

Bankers, Merchants, and Civic Leaders

Lumber barons weren’t the only wealthy residents drawn to Windom Park — the neighborhood also attracted Winona’s leading bankers and financiers. As the city’s commercial district flourished, so did the fortunes of those who funded it. Two vice-presidents of major local banks built their homes along West Broadway around 1900: J.R. Mitchell of the Winona Deposit Bank at 275 West Broadway (a stately Tudor Revival) and S.L. Prentiss of the Second National Bank at 369 West Broadway (a charming Dutch Colonial Revival). Even a bank clerk, E.M. Roberts, managed to secure a handsome Colonial Revival home at 265 West Broadway.

The neighborhood was equally home to retail and commercial pioneers. Hannibal Choate, founder of the well-known Choate Department Store, lived at 263 West Fifth Street in an Italianate home dating to 1868. Nearby, W.F.K. Vila, co-owner of Cummings & Vila Boots and Shoes, occupied another Italianate residence at 327 West Broadway, built around 1870.

Two superintendents of the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad — H.C. Gavin (301 West Broadway) and P. Hallenbach (376 West Fifth Street) — both built Queen Anne-style homes here in the 1880s and 90s. H.L. Buch, Winona’s probate judge, resided in an Italianate home at 315 West Broadway. And one of the neighborhood’s last grand arrivals was Joseph Bembenek, founder of the Peerless Chain Company, who built a Colonial Revival home at 356 West Fifth Street as late as 1942, proof that Windom Park remained a prestigious address well into the twentieth century.