Winona as we know it today was first settled by white people in the 1850's. The first white settlers in Winona were typical of others settling in the Midwest at the time. They represented Yankee settlers moving westward and immigrants from Norway, Germany, England and other Western European countries eager to establish homes, farms, and businesses.

Winona's economy at this time was typical of many small cities in the late 1800's with an economy based on lumbering, the railroad, and the Mississippi River. Winona also became the site of the first normal school west of the Mississippi with the establishment of Winona Normal School (Now Winona State University) in 1858. This was the beginning of Winona's tradition as a center of higher education.

Later the population included a greater mix of ethnic groups as citizens of Poland, Prussia, and Ireland settled in Winona. Many of these later immigrants came to Winona to work in the already established business and also in the newer manufacturing businesses being established as Winona's economy began to become more representative of the industrial age. Black Americans recently freed during the civil war and Winona's first Jewish citizens settled began to settle in Winona during the 1870's.

Throughout the early part of the 20th century and up through the 1970's Winona's population and ethnic mix remained relatively stable. Persons of foreign background represented 72% of the city in 1880, but that figure declined to 69% in 1905. Although Winona is often known as a Polish community, citizens of German origin represent its largest ethnic population base. The Polish community, however, was more unified and recognizable because of its common religion and customs. Other ethnic groups also continued to be an important factor in Winona's social, economic, political and economic structure. Churches, schools, newspapers and neighborhoods were established along ethnic lines. Much of this is still evident today, although the ethnic divisions are less noticeable.

In the 1990's refugees from South East Asia, especially the Hmong, and Black Americans have settled in Winona. Like their predecessors, mostly of them came to establish a better home and lifestyle than they had in their previous homes. They have come not only for economic reasons, but also to be with other family members who have settled here and to escape problems in larger cities. Many of the Hmong living in Winona have moved from St. Paul and others are recent immigrants from South East Asia.

Winona's economy has changed along with its ethnic mix. The information highway has replaced the railroad and the Mississippi River as Winona's economic infrastructure. Manufacturing has switched from the manual, industrial age to the highly technical information age. Higher education continues to play an important role in the city's economic and social structure and is often what draws immigrants and diverse ethnic groups to Winona.

Times change, but immigrant experiences do not. Throughout the years immigrants and people of various immigrants have faced hardships. Many ethnic groups, no matter what culture they are associated with, often face discrimination, physical hardships, poverty, disappointment, and a sense of lonliness. Their arrival in a community can often make native-born people uncomfortable and sometimes hostile.

Yet, Winona is and remains a city of varying and changing ethnic groups. Birth place and the birth place of a person;'s parent have a significant impact on a person's perception of the world and how they interact in a society. Ethnic background has influenced the history of Winona.The contributions of all ethnic groups help to make Winona varied, interesting unique and the community it is today. Whether they are Norwegian Americans preserving culture through church suppers or Hmong telling their stories through tapestries, they are tied to each other through their culture and common experiences.

Winona today is not the city it was in 1900, 1950. It is not even the city it was in 1990. Winona is a growing and changing city; its diversity can enrich everyone's experience and knowledge.

*Material located in Winona Middle School Media Center

Berman, Hyman, They Choose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups. * Jun Holmquist, ed. Minnesota Historical Society, 1981.

Bunnell, Lafayette Houghton. Winona and its Environs on the Mississippi. * Jones and Kroeger, 1897.

Crozier, Bill, "The City of Winona's Fleeting Era of Eminence," an unpublished article.

Crozier, Bill, "A People Apart: A Census Analysis of the Polish Community of Winona, Minnesota, 1880-1905," Polish American Studies.

"Ethnic stock of the people of the city of Winona, MN," number and percentage of selected ethnic groups in 1880 and 1905 and the percentage changes.

Fiske, Arland O., Scandinavian Heritage, Minot, N.D., North American Heritage Press, n.d.

Folwell, William Watts. History of Minnesota, Vols. 1-4, Minnesota Historical Society, 1969.

Gilman, Rhoda R. Northern Lights, The Story of Minnesota's Past *, Minnesota Historical Society, 1989.

Hanson, Christine. Story of Winona *, Winona Public Schools, 1948.

History of Winona County, Minnesota. Winona Historical Society.

Hoff, Rhoda. America's Immigrants *, Walck, 1967.

Liepold, L. Edmond. Citizens born abroad *, Denison, 1967.

Lakin, Pat. Everything you need to know when a parent doesn't speak English *, Rosen, 1994.

Manuscript Census of the United States, 1880, Population of the UNited States; Manuscript Census of Minnesota, 1905.

Moore, Willard B. et al. Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts In Minnesota *, Published for the University og Minnesota Art Museum. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1989.

Roots, Minnesota Historical Society, fall 1992.

Sandler, Martin W. Immigrants, A Library of Congress Book *, Harper Collins, 1995.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Census of Population: 1950 Vol. II.

Characteristics of the Population, Part 23, Minnesota. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1952.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of the Population: 1970. Vol., I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 25, Minnesota. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1973.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of the Population: 1980. Vol., I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 25, Minnesota. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1981.