WINONA

city, seat of Winona county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. It lies on high bluffs above the Mississippi River, in a mixed-farming area. Founded in 1851 by New Englanders, it was called Montezuma when laid out in 1852 but was renamed to honour a legendary Indian princess. Its early growth as a river port and wheat-shipping and logging-sawmilling centre was boosted by the arrival of the railroads in the 1860s. After 1900 timber and wheat operations declined, and diversified industries, notably the manufacture of chains and pharmaceuticals, arose. Limestone quarries are also worked in the locality. Winona State University (1858) and St. Mary's College (1912) are in the area, and the stern-wheeled steamboat Julius C. Wilkie is preserved as a museum of river lore. Sugar Loaf Hill, a limestone formation 500 feet (150 m) above the Mississippi, was a river pilot's landmark. Inc. 1857. Pop. (1992 est.) 26,007.