Winona's Fleeting Era of
Eminence, 1865-1895
by
Dr. William L. Crozier
Department of History
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Winona,Minnesota 55987
1995
Eugene V. Smalley, editor of The Northwest Magazine remembered his first
acquaintance with Winona in a seven page article describing Winona as the
"Prosperous`Gate City' of Southern Minnesota" in October, 1885. He wrote:
I remember when I was a boy, setting type in a country printing
office in Northern Ohio, often to have set up the word Winona as the
name of a newtown in the far confines of civilization that was
beginning to make something of a stir in the West,
because of the rapid way it was growing up in the wilderness.
That was in the latter part of the "fifties".
Winona, founded in October, 1851 had rapid early and sustained growth until the turn
of the century. In 1855 there were 813 people living in Winona. On the
eve of the Civil War there were 2,464 Winonans, only a hundred less people than lived in
Minneapolis. By 1880 the population of the town was over 10,000. Two decades later the size
of the city had almost doubled to 19,714. By 1905, Winona reached its initial population peak
at 20,821.
Early economic infrastructure
Winona was part of an urban system that developed during the last half of the 19th
century. This urbanization process linked Winona to the other cities and towns in the Upper
Mississippi River Valley-places like Chicago, Burlington, Clinton, Davenport, Rock Island,
LaCrosse, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. This urban network was supported by a vast hinterland
which provided both the natural resources and the markets for the urban network.
Winona's initial economic infrastructure which laid the foundation for the city's
"Golden Age" was built on an efficient transportation system, wheat milling, and lumber.
In 1856 over 1,300 steamboats stopped at the bustling town of Winona. Thirty years
over later 2,500 steamboats passed the rivertown which now depended primarily on railroads
for transportation and communication with its hinterland and other parts of the nation.
In 1862, local businessmen organized the Winona & St. Peter Railroad. By 1882 this
railroad ran across the state of Minnesota and to the James River in Dakota Territory. In 1887
the Winona & Southwestern Railroad was chartered by local entrepreneurs to link the city with
Omaha and Kansas City. By the turn of the century Winonan's had daily rail service to
Chicago, Kansas City, Green Bay, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. These railroads gave Winona
access to a huge market area for its products, as well as a producing area that provided the city
with raw materials.
Winona's wheat industry
Winona's wheat industry played an important role in the Union's diplomatic victory in
the Civil War. The Confederate States of America believed that England and France would
have to grant them diplomatic recognition and support in the war because of those nation's
dependence on the South for cotton-cotton that provided the raw material for those nation's
textile mills. As the war dragged on England realized that while cotton was important for her
industries, food in the form of American wheat was essential to feed her people. As a result
rebel hopes for recognition and victory waned.
During the 1860's southern Minnesota was the greatest wheat producing region in the
country and Winona was the main port for shipping Minnesota wheat. The wheat industry
continued to grow after the war. By 1870, Winona was the fourth largest wheat shipping port
in the United States. In 1874 over six million bushels of wheat were shipped to other parts of
the nation and the world from the port of Winona.
This industry grew by adopting new technology like roller mills and the middling's
purifier that made Minnesota Flour the premium product on the world market. Winona millers
used the new process that produced patent flour-flour that retained gluten. Flour milled at
Winona's L.C. Porter Mill won first prize in 1885 at the World Exposition in New Orleans.
Winona's dominance in the wheat industry declined in the 1880's as the result of a
combination of factors. Minneapolis mills offered better prices for wheat, thus attracting
farmers and elevator operators who had formerly sent their produce to Winona. Fundamental
changes in agriculture during this period also contributed to a reduction in the flour milling
industry in the city as the center of wheat production shifted from southern Minnesota to the
Red River Valley in northern Minnesota, the Dakotas, and southern Manitoba.
Winona's lumber industry
Winona, like other Upper Mississippi River cities, was a lumber town. John Laird
started the first lumber mill in 1855; he later was joined by his cousins James and Matthew
Norton in founding the Laird-Norton Co. This firm was soon joined by three other lumber
companies, Youmans Brothers & Hodgins, the Empire Lumber Co., and the Winona Lumber
Co. Each of these organizations built and operated large sawmills as well as planing mills and
millwork shops.
The settlement of the hinterland around Winona increased the demand for lumber
because there were few trees on the plains that stretched westward from the city. In fact, there
was little usable timber around Winona, only hardwoods like oak. There were, however, two
great white pine forests north of the city-in Wisconsin along the Chippewa River and the other
along the St. Croix River in Minnesota. Winona lumbermen combined with other lumbermen
from Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin to organize the Mississippi River Logging Co.-a combine
of forty independent companies that got control of the white pine forests of western Wisconsin.
The combine was headed by Frederick Weyerhaueser, and William Laird of Winona was the
treasurer of the combine for years.
The lumber business in Winona continued to expand throughout the last quarter of the
19th century. Winona's lumber companies always ranked in the top fifty in the upper
Midwest. The four major lumber companies had over eighty retail outlets in towns along the
routes of the Winona & St. Peter and the Winona & Southwestern railroads. The mills at
Winona supplied the finished lumber that was used to construct the houses and other buildings
across southern Minnesota. The sawmills reached their peak production in 1892 when they
produced over 160 million board feet annually and ranked eighth in production of lumber in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Diversified economy
Winona entrepreneurs and civic leaders sought to develop a diversified economy for the
city. Business men wanted to establish a more secure economic foundation for the city instead
of depending on a few major industries. Winona's newspapers and an aggressive Board of
Trade worked diligently to bring new industries to the city. There was some success-the
Winona Wagon Co. established a plant in the city to build a farm wagon that became known as
"old Reliable". Thousands of these were produced in Winona and sold around the world. The
Winona Plow Co. and the Winona Harvester Co. manufactured farm implements, the Union
Fibre Co. used waste materials from the sawmills for refrigerator packing, and the Chicago &
Northwestern built engine and car shops and two round houses in the city. Other firms in the
city manufactured everything from fine carriages to lightening rods.
Beinnings of Watkins
In 1885 an itinerant salesman came to Winona to manufacture and sell his liniment that
he claimed was "good for horse and man". Beginning in a two room house, J.R. Watkins
made and peddled his liniment to a growing clientele. By 1912 the Watkins Drug Co. was an
international corporation with plants in Canada and Australia. The home office and main plant
remained in Winona. Watkins products became one of the leading direct selling firms in the
nation. Another drug company, McConnon & Co. was also established at this time.
A dominant city
Winona boosters had set a population goal of 50,000 for their city. Even though the
population never did reach that number, the city did become a major economic educational,
cultural, religious and political center. Winona became much more prominent than most cities
of its size and many cities which were much larger. It was the third city in Minnesota until
1890. It was the dominant city in southern Minnesota. Its influence radiated to the capitol at
St. Paul and was represented in the White House and on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
A strong urban economy, buttressed by a growing population reflected the work of an
enlightened civic leadership and the confidence of a vigorous, intelligent citizenry. This was
the human capital that produced Winona's generation of greatness-a three decade period which
began at the close of the Civil War and ended around the turn of the century. Winona's
"Golden Years". This lustrous period may best be illustrated by recounting some of the
accomplishments of Winona's citizenry which contributed to the city's reputation for
excellence in education, culture, religion, politics, and business.
An Educational Center
Winona Normal School
Winona's representatives in the legislature and businessmen at home were able to push
the legislation and raise the required money and land to acquire the first state normal school in
Minnesota. The Winona Normal School was designed to provide special training for students
who were entering the teaching profession. The Winona Normal School opened in 1860 with
a faculty of 2 and a total enrollment of 61. By 1910, the faculty numbered 35 and the student
body exceeded 800. The administration and faculty of Winona Normal School were active in
improving education, especially the training and professionalization of teachers. One of the
more colorful leaders of the school, and a notable American educator, was William Phelps,
who served as a professor, later President of the school. He was elected President of the
National Education Association in 1875 and presented the Centennial Address to that
organization in 1876. Phelps was an outspoken proponent of quality education. In one of his
many controversial addresses he said,"Poor schools and poor teachers are in a majority
throughout the country. Multitudes of these schools are so poor that it would be as well for
the country if they were closed. They add nothing to the intelligence or moral power of the
country. They waste its resources. They teach nothing positively good, but much that is
positively bad. They are little else than instruments for the promotion of mental and moral
deformity."
Phelps was a prominent educator, author, and a dynamic promoter. He presided at the
first international conference of educators at the Centennial Exposition in 1876. He directed
the Winona Board of Trade from 1881 to 1886. Among his many publications were:
"Industrial Supremacy and How to Attain It", Teacher's Handbook for the
Institute and the Classroom, and a book promoting Duluth, A Vast Empire and its Metropolis.
Irwin Shepard and the National Eduction Association
Irwin Shepard, another Winona educator was a major factor in the establishment of the
National Education Association which had its foundation in Winona. Shepard, who had won
the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War was a long-time official of the
association he served as its Executive Secretary during the formative years of the association
and his home in Winona was the headquarters of the association for a time. Shepard also
served as President of the Normal School.
The College of St. Teresa and St. Mary's College
In 1888 the Sisters of St. Francis of Rochester purchased property in Winona to start a
school called the Winona Seminary for Ladies. Classes began in 1894. Instruction on the
College level began in the school year 1907-1908. The college was under the leadership of
Mary Malloy later Sister Aloyious, who was one of the first women to receive a Ph.D. from
Cornell University. In 1912, the seminary was renamed the College of St. Teresa.
Winona's third institution of higher learning was founded by Bishop Patrick Heffron in
1912, after a fund raising campaign organized by the Winona board of trade and the
Businessmen's Association raised 25 thousand dollars to open the school. Bishop Heffron
intended to establish a school for boys on a bluff on the western edge of the city. The rapid
accomplishment of the loan drive by the Winona Businessmen has been attributed to a belief
that if a successful drive were not carried out in Winona, the boarding school might have been
located in Rochester. In 1913, 80 boys were students at St. Mary's. The main building, St.
Mary's Hall, was modeled after buildings in the Vatican; in fact, this building had an unusual,
natural air conditioning system which was more appropriate for the Mediterranean Sea than for
Southern Minnesota. St. Mary's College became a 4 year undergraduate institution in 1929.
Culture
Cultural Life
The cultural life of the city of Winona was supported by the establishment of the
Winona Opera House and Philharmonic Hall. These buildings were the sites of many locally
produced plays and theatrical performances. They were also used for performances by famous
visiting artists, lecturers, and musicians who were brought to Winona by O. F. Burlingame,
the astute Impresario of the Winona Opera House. Among the prominent artists he brought to
Winona were: Lillian Russell, Sarah Bernhardt, John Philip Sousa, Helena Modjewska John
Barrymore, Eva Tanguey, and Harry Lauder. Victoria Woodhull, a spokeswoman for
Women's Rights and candidate for the presidency in the 1870's spoke on Women's Suffrage
and Female independence to a packed Philharmonic Hall in February 1874. A dispatch to the
St. Paul Pioneer described the large and enthusiastic audience which responded to her address
with frequent demonstrations of applause. Her address on women's suffrage "evoked decided
demonstrations of approval". A local newspaperman described her as, "an irreverent,
perambulating, female termagant capable of creating more mischief in a given length of time
than a state legislature can possibly enact in sixty days."
Newspapers and Editors
Newspapers
Winona's cultural life was also enhanced by the number and quality of newspapers
published in the city. From 1865 until his death in 1907, Daniel Sinclair served as the editor
of the Winona Daily Republican. For over 50 years he reported the news and boosted the city.
He encouraged new industry and urged his fellow Winonans to support the growth of the city.
Sinclair also served as postmaster of the city and was influential in the republican party on the
national level. William Whipple was Sinclair's counter-part as editor of the Winona Herald, a
paper that espoused the causes of the Democratic Party. When Democratic presidents won
elections (a rare occurrence between 1860-1918), Whipple replaced Sinclair as postmaster.
Reading the political columns of the Republican and the Herald would lead on to believe that
the editors were implacable foes. While they were outspoken in their political views, they
were personal friends who used to meet quietly each election day to discuss the results.
Diverse folk customs and ethnic traditions added interest and passion to Winona's
quality of life. German bands and beer gardens complemented the Polish and Bohemian
festivals. The annual St.Patrick's Day parade and festivities often became a city-wide
celebration of winter's end.
Ethnicity
Winona was an ethnic city and ethnicity was a major contributor to the cultural
atmosphere of the city. Historians have demonstrated that birth place and the birth place of a
person's parent have a significant impact on the person's perception of the world. Ethnicity is
related to where people live, how they vote, their occupation, who they marry, and how they
raise their children. Ethnicity is an important element in trying to understand a city and its
people. Ethnicity certainly had much to do with the history of Winona.
At the turn of the century, 44 percent of the people of Winona over the age of 20 were
foreign born. Sixteen percent of these people were born in Germany and 12 percent were born
in Poland. The pervasiveness of ethnicity in Winona is even more evident when we realize that
77 percent of the population were of foreign ethnic stock, that is, persons who had one or both
parents who were foreign born.
In Winona, there was certainly a relationship between ethnicity and the neighborhood
in which people lived. The foreign born population of the city tended to settle in the eastern
wards of Winona. For example, the proportion of foreign born persons 20 years of age and
over was thirty percent in the first ward, 24 percent in the second, forty percent in the third
and 74 percent in the 4th ward. The distribution of ethnic stock persons by ward was even
more dramatic. Sixty-six percent of the people of the first ward were of foreign ethnic stock,
57 percent of the second ward, 87 percent in the 3rd ward, and the 4th ward's population was
96 percent ethnic stock.
Foreign language newspapers
Foreign language newspapers strengthened ethnic beliefs and attitudes. In Winona,
there were two publishers of foreign language newspapers. Joseph Leicht founded and edited
a number of German language newspapers. At least two of them, The National Farmer and
the Volksblatt des Westens were national editions The local German newspaper was called
Westlicher Herold. Leicht not only edited these German newspapers, he was also active in the
Democratic Party. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for State Treasurer in 1892.
One of the most famous foreign language newspapers published in Winona was the
Polish weekly Wiarus. This newspaper was distributed from Winona, as far west as California.
The weekly covered local news for Winona's large Polish community, as well as news from
Poland and other polish communities in the United States, Heronim Derdowski, a native of
Wiele, Poland was the editor of the Wiarus from 1885 to 1905. In his homeland he had edited
newspapers and was a popular poet. Because of his opposition to oppression and Russian
control of Poland, Derdowski left home to seek freedom in America. Derdowski and the
Wiarus played an important part in strengthening the Polish community in Winona. He
encouraged his readers to retain their Polish culture, but to be Americans. The Wiarus was
outspoken in its support of the working man, devotion to education, and the retention of the
Polish language and culture.
Politicians and Civic leaders
From newspaper accounts,politics seemed to be the major sport in Winona during this
period and ethnicity and religion played important roles in determining the outcome of
elections in Winona. Religion became a factor in elections that had issues like Sunday closing
laws and prohibition. There was little ecumenical spirit during this period, but when it came to
the right to drink, Catholics and Lutherans would always come together and vote against
prohibition. Winona of course, had sizable populations of Germans and Poles and lesser
numbers of Irish and Bohemians. All of these ethnic groups viewed drinking as a part of there
national heritage.
Among the prominent Winona politicians, Daniel Norton was elected to the United
States Senate. In the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, Norton broke ranks with his
party and voted his conscience. President Johnson's impeachment failed by one vote. Norton,
however paid for his courageous decision and was scorned by the party faithful.
Norton's law partner, William Windom, was elected to the United States House of
Representatives, and the United States Senate. He was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by
Presidents Garfield and Harrison. In 1880, Windom was a leading contender for the
Republican nomination for the presidency. Roscoe Conkling's last minute decision to support
denied the nomination to Windom who lost out to James Garfield.
James Tawney was one of nine Winonans who were elected to the United States House
of Representatives. He served nine terms in that body, advancing to Chairman of the
prestigious House Appropriations Committee in 1905. Another Winonan, William Mitchell,
was appointed Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He later was named Chief
Justice. William Mitchell Law School is named in his honor. Winonans of this period also
served as federal judges and one was the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota.
A former steamboat captain who towed the log rafts from West Newton and Beef
Slough to Winona, Sam Van Sant was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1900. He served two
terms and began on of the major anti-trust suits that became the basis for the famous Northern
Securities Case.
Foreign born Winonans also participated in politics by holding leadership positions in
political parties and by running for and winning public office. John Ludwig, a Luxembourger
was elected Mayor of the city. Emil Leicht was an active leader in the Democratic party.
James Wilson, an Irishman was a major power in the same party. Wilson was the Democratic
candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 1890. He ran so effectively that he almost defeated the
Republican candidate. He did in fact, garner more votes for than any Democratic candidate in
Minnesota history to that time. Theodore Sikorski and T. Winsciewski, Polish-Americans were
successful candidates for county office.
Women in the United States were denied full participation as citizens until the 20th
century. In Minnesota, however, women could serve on School Boards. In 1895 Mary Dyar
became the first Winona woman to succeed in the quest for elective office. She handily
defeated a Winona physician for a seat on the local school board.
Religious Center
Relgion
Religion also played an important role in building Winona and the region. The early
founders and most prominent leaders of the city were members of traditional Protestant
communions like the Presbyterian, Congregational, Episcopalian and Methodist churches.
These native born Americans or "Yankees" arrived in the area first and had a great formative
influence on many communities in Minnesota. According to church historian Daniel P.
O'Neill, river cities contributed to religious expansion in Minnesota.
After reading through the literature on religion in the Upper Mississippi River
Valley, one immediately notes the primary role of the river community as the
spearhead of the religious frontier. The first churches were established in river
towns and they, in turn, fostered the development of daughter congregations in
communities beyond the valley. Thus, the earliest Methodist churches in the
Minnesota Territory were planted in St. Paul, Red Wing, and Winona, and
these congregations served as a base from which circuit riders extended their
missionary activity into the hinterland. A similar pattern was followed by the
Lutherans, Catholics, and members of other denominations.
Among the prominent church leaders of the city was Edward Eggleston, Pastor of the
First Methodist Episcopalian Church during the Civil War Eggleston had been a missionary
and circuit rider for the church in Minnesota before he was assigned to Winona. Eggleston
later became famous throughout the country as a novelist and historian. His most famous
novels were A Hoosier Schoolmaster and A Hoosier Schoolboy. Ironically, one of Eggleston's
early novels, The Mystery of Metropolisville depicts the early history of a new town in
Minnesota during the 1850's, a town that was unable to survive the competitive urban frontier
era.
Eggleston also forged new ideas for historians. He believed that history should include
the lives of common people instead of focusing only on the exploits of the rich and powerful.
In 1900 as President of the American Historical Association, he urged his fellow historians to
write about all the people of the communities they studied.
Winona, like other cities on the upper Mississippi river, LaCrosse, Dubuque and St.
Paul was the seat of a bishop of the Roman Catholic church. Archbishop John Ireland
promoted the Americanization of the Catholic Church. Sometimes dubbed the "Consecrated
Blizzard of the Northwest", Ireland and his allies in Baltimore and Rome sponsored a plan to
establish five dioceses for the archdiocese of St. Paul. The creation of the diocese of Winona
in 1889 was part of Ireland's plan and the first bishop selected, Joseph Cotter was a friend and
supporter of the archbishop. He was also the best man for the position because he had earned
the respect and admiration of Catholic and non-Catholic alike in his work in Winona which
began in 1871. Winona civic leaders were justly proud that their city was to be the seat of a
bishop who directed the Catholic Church in twenty counties of southern Minnesota.
Phillip Von Rohr was the most prominent Lutheran in Winona and the leader of the
Germans in the city and in the region. He was the second pastor of St. Martins German
Lutheran Church. When Von Rohr assumed the pastorate in 1887, there were 8 families in the
church. By the time he retired in 1909, church membership had grown to 580 families, he had
baptized over 400 people, and he had buried 950. He built two churches, the last one seating
1200 people and he built two parochial schools, one a parish school and the other a mission
school serving the German community at the west end of the city. Von Rohr founded the
Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran Church and served as its President for over 19 years.
While Winona's churches dominated the skyline and main thoroughfares of the city. It
was the rivertowns many saloons, bordello's and brothels that attracted young people from
sleepy villages like Rushford, Rochester, and St. Charles to Winona. Winona's "Second
Street" was famous up and down the river. Above third Street Winona was a quiet respectable
metropolis. On "Second Street" it was a rollicking, raucous river town where folks like
Queenie LaVaque and Frenchy LaTour held sway.
Entrepreneurs
A businessman's town
Winona, of course, was a businessman's town. There were many entrepreneurs who
contributed to the city's growth. A few representative examples will indicate the quality of
business leadership that was characteristic of the city. Probably one of the most widely known
individuals in Winona's history was Hannibal Choate often called the merchant prince. Choate
was from a prominent New York family. He moved westward and lived for awhile in
Janesville,WI. where he worked as a clerk in a mercantile store. He saved his earnings and
purchased an interest in this store which became a chain of stores, Choate was chosen to
establish and manage the Winona store and he did so in 1861. Choate was a dynamic
merchant who soon acquired complete ownership of the store in Winona, expanded it and
created in the 1880's the Choate Block which became one of the finest department stores in
this part of the country.
One of the most active business men in Winona was Henry W. Lamberton, an attorney,
who was born in Pennsylvania came here in the 1850's and served as a railroad commissioner
for a time. He became very active in real estate development. He was one of the founders of
the Winona Southwest railroad and later served as the president of that firm. One of Winona's
landmarks is the Lamberton house. This house was considered to be the most beautiful house
on the upper Mississippi River between Prairie du Chien and St. Paul.
The lumber industry of course produced many millionaires in Winona. One of them
was Abner Hodgins who was born in Tennessee. He was a teacher for a period in Galena, Il.
He came to Winona in the early 1850's and was involved in a number of business enterprises.
Hodgins was also a participant in local, state, and national politics. A member of the
Democratic party he was elected to the post of mayor of Winona seven different times.
Hodgin's partners in the lumber business, Earle and Addison Youmans were members
of a prominent New York family. Earle Youmans, attracted by the discovery of gold in 1849
decided to work his way west. Too late to participate in the gold discovery he applied his
skills in woodwork and became a coffin maker,a busy and profitable trade in frontier
Sacramento. He demonstrated his business skills by persuading the city of Sacramento to give
him a contract to build all the coffins the city would need. He hired 8 men to carry out this
contract. He returned home in the 1850's to Saratoga and again moved west with his brother
to Winona in 1857 where they entered the lumber business. In 1871 Earl Youmans along with
his brother and Abner B. Hodgins formed the company of Youmans brothers and Hodgins.
Earle Youmans also was involved in banking and served one term in the Minnesota legislature.
John Ludwig was another prominent business and civic leader in Winona. Ludwig,
born in Luxembourg, lived for a time in Wisconsin where he joined the union army during the
Civil War. After his service in the army, he moved to Winona and built the Winona House
and Ludwig's Hotel. John Ludwig served as mayor of Winona for 4 terms and he was one of
the main founders of the German/American bank.
The People
The growth and development of Winona is often seen as the work of a few important
men and their families. But the real strength of the city was not as much in its leaders as it was
in the ordinary people. The factory workers, homemakers, clerks, laundresses, and day
laborers whose work built up the city were not marked by history. The great majority of
Winonans will never be mentioned in the history books but it is the lives of these people,the
ordinary people, that is the real stuff of history.
Early growth was not sustained
Winona's "Golden Age" even though brilliant was brief. Winona, unlike the other
Upper Mississippi River cities was not able to absorb the collapse of the lumber industry even
though the city had sought to expand its industrial base. In 1895 and continuing intermittently
for the next few decades the population of Winona declined and remained unstable. Winona's
pattern of growth had stopped. The reasons for this are still mysterious. Winona had in
abundance those characteristics that generally indicated successful urban growth. The site
around Winona was not only beautiful it was also an excellent site for the location of a city and
the development of a market area. While lumber a major natural resource was exploited until it
was completely destroyed, Winonans had early on attempted to diversify their industry and in
fact had been at least in part successful. Winona's leadership can't be faulted, there were
leaders in abundance who had imagination and energy and who made many attempts to expand
and develop the city. The industriousness and productivity of the work force was evident.The
ordinary people more than carried their share in the building of an American city.
The founders and early leaders of Winona had high hopes that their city would prosper
and grow into an influential metropolis. Winona quickly made the village to small town
transition and seemed destined for further growth to big city status. Winona had the "style" of
a city that was going places-but the dream ended.
Winona stagnated and was bypassed by other cities in the region. In recent years,
Winona has had renewed growth and a renaissance in growth and influence is still within its
reach. While not the largest, nor the richest city in the region, it is the most historic and the
most dynamic of all the cities in southern Minnesota.
Added to "Winona's Changing Demographics" web site 9/96, M.A.A.
with permission from Dr. William Crozier.