Winona County (pop. 51,461) is southeast of Wabasha County, along the Mississippi River.

The county seat is Winona (pop. 27,592), for which the actress Winona Ryder was named – although she was born in nearby Olmsted County.

In “Little Women”

Winona, which was a major wheat-shipping port in the late 1800s, celebrates Steamboat Days every summer.

A rocky pinnacle called Sugar Loaf is a landmark in the Winona area.

Its shape resulted from limestone quarrying in the 1880s.

The Winona County Courthouse was built in 1889.

In the Richardsonian Romanesque style

The Church of Saint Stanislaus was built in 1895.

Founded by Polish Catholics

Watkins Incorporated has been based in Winona since 1885; Watkins sells a variety of health-related and household products, mainly through direct sales.

Watkins invented the “money-back guarantee” in 1868.

The town of Rollingstone (pop. 664) got its name from the Rollingstone River, which was called “the stream where the stone rolls” by the Dakota Indians.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Rollingstone, founded by Luxembourgers

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