Trick or Treat at the History Center Offices
2025-10-31 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona County History Center, 160 Johnson Street, Winona, MN, 55987
Trick-or-treat the Winona County History Center! Bring your best costume and your candy buckets, and take advantage of the free museum day to rove in the exhibits hall.

The War at Home
2025-11-07 18:00 - 19:00
Americans went to war in 1917 literally against Germany but also against each other. In The War at Home, historian Greg Gaut focuses on the lives of individual Minnesotans to tell the dramatic story of this period, when the North Star State experienced bitter polarization, nativism, flagrant disregard for democratic norms, and intense, sometimes violent, confrontations.
Greg will explore his research and stories from this new book, which is for sale in the Museum Shop. His article on a World War I espionage case, “Hardware Store Sedition: The Case of Charles W. Andring,” won the Solon J. Buck Award for the best article in Minnesota History for 2020. He holds a doctorate in modern European and Russian history from the University of Minnesota.
This event is free, but space is limited. Seating is first come, first serve!

Museum Makers Class: Holiday Cards and Ornaments
2025-12-07 13:00 - 15:30
Craft holiday cards and ornaments during this Museum Makers Class at the Winona County History Center! Learn simple sewing skills to make a fabric tree ornament and/or get creative using vintage designs to create a custom holiday card. Bring a copy of photos to incorporate if you wish. Make your craft as a special gift or keep it for your décor.
Space is limited. Register by calling 507-454-2723 ext. 0 or stopping by the History Center. Cost is $15 for members and $20 for the public. Best for ages 10 and up. All supplies are included and you take your creations home. Hot cocoa will be served.

History Buff Book Chat: Red Heart
2026-01-28 12:00 - 13:00
For our January History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss Red Heart by James Thom. The novel follows the Slocum family, white settlers in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and “it is from this good-hearted family that Frances is abducted during the Revolutionary war.”
Join in a conversation about a different book each month from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The Book Chat group is open to everyone. Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Upcoming books:
Bregdan Chronicles: Storm Clouds Rolling In | February 25
All the Light We Cannot See | March 25
The Briar Club | April 22

Vintage Valentines
2026-02-11 15:00 - 18:00
For this Museum Makers Class, stop in the History Center between 3 – 6 p.m. to create up to three vintage valentines! All supplies are included and class leaders will provide ideas, inspiration, and some history of valentines.
Valentine cards evolved from handwritten notes in the 15th century to ornate, mass-produced creations in the Victorian era, fueled by postal reforms and printing advances. Esther A. Howland become the “Mother of the American Valentine” for her 1840s commercial success in the U.S. with elaborate, laced designs.
This drop-in style class is $5 for members and $8 for the public. You can pay upon arrival. Groups are welcome, please give us a heads-up by calling 507-454- 2723 ext. 0 or 3. Open for all ages, but best for those 6 and older. Adults must accompany children.

History Buff Book Chat: Storm Clouds Rolling In
2026-02-25 12:00 - 13:00
For our February History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss Bregdan Chronicles: Storm Clouds Rolling In by Ginny Dye.
This book launches The Bregdan Chronicles, a sweeping saga of courage, sacrifice, and resilience told through both Black and White, Free and Enslaved, Northern and Southern characters during the Civil War. Carrie Cromwell, fiery and strong-willed, finds herself torn between the South’s traditions and the dangerous truths she discovers through the Underground Railroad. As war erupts, every choice she makes risks her family, her freedom, and the lives of those she loves most.
Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!

Upcoming Books:
All the Light We Cannot See | March 25
The Briar Club | April 22
This Tender Land | May 27
The Kitchen Front | June 24

History Buff Book Chat: All the Light We Cannot See
2026-03-25 12:00 - 13:00
For our March History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
Join in a conversation about a different book each month from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The Book Chat group is open to everyone. Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Upcoming books:
The Briar Club | April 22
This Tender Land | May 27
The Kitchen Front | June 24

Members-Only 91st Annual Meeting
2026-03-26 19:00 - 20:30
Mark your calendars for the members-only 91st Annual Meeting of the Winona County Historical Society. We invite you to enjoy a program by Reggie McLeod, following a short business meeting. Then, gather for a dessert reception to celebrate another year of history!

Museum Makers Class: Pisanki Egg Decorating
2026-04-01 13:00 - 15:30
Registration Required: Call 507-454-2723 ext. 0 or stop in at the History Center. Class limit 12 people.
Cost: $10 for WCHS members and $15 for non-members. No refunds unless class is cancelled by WCHS.
The seasonal favorite is back — Pisanki Egg Decorating! A WCHS class leader will help you to create your own colorful egg masterpiece. All the supplies are provided, and you can take your decorated egg home. Best for 12 and older, any minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Pisanki (Polish) or Pysanky (Ukrainian) are traditional Slavic decorated eggs, created using a wax-resist method (batik) to draw designs or
symbols with beeswax before dipping in dyes. The wax is then melted off to reveal all the colors and full design.

The Winona County History Center is open daily 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at 160 Johnson St. in downtown Winona. Not a member? It is always a great time to join! Call 507.454.2723 or visit winonahistory.org to find more!

History Buff Book Chat: The Briar Club
2026-04-22 12:00 - 13:00
For our April History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.
Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.
Join in a conversation about a different book each month from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The Book Chat group is open to everyone. Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!

History Buff Book Chat: This Tender Land
2026-05-27 12:00 - 13:00
For our May History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.
In the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota’s Gilead River, Odie O’Banion is an orphan confined to the Lincoln Indian Training School, a pitiless place where his lively nature earns him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee after committing a terrible crime, he and his brother, Albert, their best friend, Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.
Join in a conversation about a different book each month from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The Book Chat group is open to everyone. Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Upcoming books:
The Kitchen Front | June 24

The Story of Blooming Grounds Coffeehouse
2026-06-04 19:00 - 20:00
Don’t miss out on your chance to learn all about the story of Blooming Grounds Coffeehouse!
Hear from Amy Jo Marks about her downtown Winona staple, Blooming Grounds. After getting her degree in Criminal Justice, Amy Jo decided to follow her passion for baking and working in customer service by opening a coffeehouse. She mixed a cozy atmosphere with homemade baked goods starting in 2003. The successful business soon opened a second location, and Amy Jo also expanded offerings downtown with a cocktail bar, Muddled Thyme.

History Buff Book Chat: The Kitchen Front
2026-06-24 12:00 - 13:00
For our June History Buff Book Chat, we will discuss The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan.
Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest—and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.
Join in a conversation about a different book each month from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The Book Chat group is open to everyone. Meet in Wanek Hall on the second floor of the Winona County History Center. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Upcoming books:

Incorporating Native Plants Into Home Gardens
2026-06-30 13:30 - 15:00
Cavan Mittage-McNaught works as the Education and Outreach specialist for Prairie Moon Nursery. Cavan’s program “Seed Starting & How to Incorporate Native Plants Into Home Gardens” will focus on how we can all support the environment in our own yards by choosing native plants. Fifty Meadow Blazingstar prairie plants (Liatris Ligulistylis) will be given away during Cavan’s program.
The “Incorporating Native Plants” program is hosted in conjunction with the art show Beneath our Fields: A reflection on what existed prior to our Croplands, featuring drawings by Lois Peterson. Lois’s work will be on display in the Slaggie Family Lobby gallery space on the first floor of Winona County History Center from May 16 – July 15.
