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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Winona (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Winona. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Winona is located in Winona County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Winona County: Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha, Buffalo (WI), La Crosse (WI) & Trempealeau (WI).

Below are the counties that are near Winona. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Winona:

  • Winona County     (The home county of Winona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.
    • Goodview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Goodview is located in Winona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,127 people
    • Minnesota City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Homer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Homer is located in Winona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Wilson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Stockton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Stockton is located in Winona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
    • Rollingstone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lamoille
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Wyattville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lewiston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Nodine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Altura
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Utica
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Fillmore County
  • Houston County
  • Olmsted County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.
    • Dover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Eyota
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Viola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Wabasha County
  • Buffalo County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.
    • Bluff Siding
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Marshland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Marshland is located in Buffalo County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshland
    • Fountain City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Anchorage ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Anchorage is located in Buffalo County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Cochrane
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Buffalo is located in Buffalo County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Waumandee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Montana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Alma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilmanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lookout
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Jackson County (WI)
  • La Crosse County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.
    • Brice Prairie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Brice Prairie is located in La Crosse County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Prairie
    • Holmen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Holmen is located in La Crosse County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
    • Midway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • French Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • North La Crosse
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
    • Onalaska
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Grand Crossing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • La Crosse
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mindoro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • West Salem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Barre Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Trempealeau County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.
    • Wrights Corners
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Trempealeau
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
    • Galesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Arcadia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Frenchville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ettrick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ettrick is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
    • New City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • New City is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
    • Independence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Independence is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
    • Blair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Blair is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,330 people
    • Russell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Whitehall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitehall is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,565 people
    • Coral City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Coral City is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral City

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Winona, see our County-by-County Page for Winona.

Cemeteries Near Winona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Winona.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Winona - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Winona covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Winona had a population of 18,208 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Winona had a population of 26,545 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Winona, with the one closest to Winona listed first.

  • Sugarloaf
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sugarloaf is located in Winona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf
  • East Winona
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • East Winona is located in Buffalo County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winona
  • Bluff Siding
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Homer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Homer is located in Winona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
  • Minnesota City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Stockton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Stockton is located in Winona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
  • Wilson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Pine Creek ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Pine Creek is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
  • Fountain City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bohri ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Bohri is located in Buffalo County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohri
  • Dodge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dodge is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
  • Witoka
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Witoka is located in Winona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witoka
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Winona. See our List of 1890's Communities around Winona.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Winona ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 195 newspapers that have been published in the area around Winona.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Winona. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Winona and those printed in the larger area surrounding Winona.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Winona.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Winona:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Winona, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Winona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.