Winona County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winona County
U.S. county
Winona County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 23, 1854
Named for	Winona (Native American)
Seat	Winona
Largest city	Winona
Area
• Total	642 sq mi (1,660 km2)
• Land	626 sq mi (1,620 km2)
• Water	15 sq mi (40 km2)  2.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	49,671
• Estimate  (2023)	49,721
• Density	79.3/sq mi (30.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Winona County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,671. Its county seat is Winona. Winona County comprises the Winona, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Maiden's Rock, from which legend has it the Dakota maiden named Winona leapt to her death

The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin) in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, Wabasha, had its southern section partitioned off on March 5, 1853, into a new county, Fillmore. On February 23, 1854, the legislature partitioned the northern part of Fillmore County, plus a small section of Wabasha, to create Winona County, with the village of Winona as county seat. The county name was taken from the village name, which is said to derive from a Dakota legend about a woman, Winona, (a relative of Chief Wabasha) who was betrothed to a warrior she did not love. Rather than marry him, she jumped to her death from a rock on Lake Pepin now called "Maiden's Rock". This is known as the Winona legend.

The county boundaries have remained unchanged since 1854.

Geography

Winona County lies on Minnesota's border with Wisconsin and is part of the driftless area that defines southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois. The Mississippi, flowing south-southeast, defines the county's eastern border. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Paul District) maintains the lock and dam system in this region.

The Whitewater River flows north-northeast through the northwest part of the county toward its discharge into the Mississippi just above Winona County. The eastern part of the county is drained into the Mississippi by east-flowing streams including Rollingstone Creek, Garvin Brook, Cedar Creek, and Big Trout Creek. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills with the east portion particularly etched by drainages, and lightly sprinkled with lakes. The land is devoted to agriculture where possible. The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point at 1,365 ft (416 m) ASL on a hill two miles (3.2 km) east of Wilson. The county has an area of 642 square miles (1,660 km²), of which 626 square miles (1,620 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (2.4%) is water.

Within Minnesota, Winona County borders Wabasha County, Olmsted County, Fillmore County and Houston County.

Transit

• Winona Transit Service
• Jefferson Lines
• Amtrak (Empire Builder)

Major highways

Public airports

• Winona Municipal Airport (ONA) (Max Conrad Field), NW of Winona

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

2020 census

Micropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated Winona County as the Winona, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), with Winona as its principal city. The US Census Bureau ranked this μSA as the 591st most populous Core Based Statistical Area of the United States as of April 1, 2020.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

• Homer

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Winona para niños