Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka
The cornerstone of the present red brick and stone structure was laid on October 28th, 1894. Just over a year later – Thanksgiving Day of 1895 – the beautiful and imposing church was dedicated. The church was designed in Romanesque-style in the form of a Greek cross.
Bunnell House
At the Bunnell House, visitors step back into the 1850s and into the lives of one of Winona’s earliest and…
Castlerock Museum
Come and see authentic arms and armor from Romans, Dark Age Warriors, Vikings, Crusader Knights, and Renaissance “Knights in Shining…
Cathedral Crafts
Cathedral Crafts, Inc. has created and restored masterworks of glass since 1970. Its artists and craftsmen use the finest European…
Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels
The Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels was built by the Sisters of Saint Francis as the crown jewel of the Saint Teresa Campus. It is operated by Saint Mary’s University under the auspices of the Diocese of Winona. The chapel is a popular setting for weddings.
Downtown National Register Historic Districts
The Winona Downtown Commercial Historic District contains over one hundred sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This…
First Baptist Church
A vision of vertical lines built from locally quarried limestone trimmed with red Fond du Lac sandstone, the church was built in 1893. Designed by Bullard and Bullard of Springfield, Ill., with stained glass windows from the Wells Glass Co. of Chicago.
First Congregational Church
First Congregational Church, UCC, was the first church in Winona and the oldest congregation in southeast Minnesota. Parishioners and visitors alike enjoy the historic “Rose Window,” a gift by the Sunday School children of the late 19th Century.
Goodview Memorial Park
Memorial Park formerly known as Diocese Park was started in 1972 with an open air pavilion and playground set. The…
International Owl Center
Experience the whoosh of an owl’s wings as it flies and meet several live owls at the only all-owl education…
Levee Park Art Wall
Part of the 2018 Levee Park Renovation Project, the Art Wall was designed to pay tribute to the historical and…
Merchants Bank
The historic Merchants National Bank building Merchants Bank was designed in the Prairie School architectural style. It was built in…
Winona’s Natural Abundance
Winona, Minnesota is a place shaped by nature—and it shows. Nestled along a dramatic bend of the Mississippi River, Winona sits within the Driftless Region, a rare pocket of the Midwest untouched by glaciers. While much of North America was flattened by ice, this area was left gloriously rugged. Ancient meltwater carved the Mississippi River Valley hundreds of feet below the surrounding landscape, creating the towering bluffs that frame the city today. Here, the river curves west to east, with Wisconsin just across the water, delivering sweeping views, striking scenery, and a setting unlike anywhere else in the state.
Millennia of History
For thousands of years, Native Americans prized the fertile Mississippi River Valley for its abundant fishing and wildlife, protective hardwood forests, and temperate climate. Winona’s storied past as a Native American home centers on the tribe of Dakota Indians led by a succession of Chiefs Wapasha.
This city and county derived their names from “Winuŋna” (wee-NEW-nuh), a Dakota descriptive word meaning “first-born who is a daughter.” Over the centuries, writers recorded the name as Wenonah, Weenona, and Wynona. Others called this area “Wabasha’s Prairie,” “The Island City,” or “Wing Prairie.”
The trail of names and spellings hints that this place along the Mississippi River means many different things to many different people. We invite you to discover what it means to you.
From river settlement to regional hub
With the signing of the Treaty of Mendota forcing the Dakota out, Winona was resettled in 1851 by Euro-American settlers, with immigrants soon arriving in search of opportunity and a better life. By 1856, Winona had become a bustling river town, welcoming nearly 1,300 steamboats each year. Just a few years later, in 1860, the population reached 2,456, and growth surged from there. Within the next decade, Winona ranked as the fourth-largest milled wheat port in the nation and the eighth-largest lumber port in the Midwest. The city even held the title of Minnesota’s third-largest city until the late 1880s. By the early 1900s, population growth leveled off, settling into the vibrant community of about 27,000 people that calls Winona home today.
Lumber and wheat once powered Winona’s rise, building both its economy and its iconic landscape. While the mills moved west, Winona evolved—diversifying, adapting, and thriving. Today, the city shines as a destination known for its stunning architecture, dramatic natural scenery, vibrant arts scene, beautiful parks, rich historic character, diverse local businesses, and strong educational institutions, offering visitors a place where heritage and creativity live side by side.
Gateway to the West:
Winona's History
When the first riverboat captains traveled up the Mississippi River searching for new frontiers, they found Winona as an expansive sandbar prairie in the midst of the river, labeled only as Island 72. In 1851, Captain Orrin Smith created the first white settlement here, referring to this place as Wapasha’s Prairie after the Dakota chief leading its resident tribe, and droves of pioneers stepped off of boats to stake land claims.
