Visit Our Museums
Winona County
History Center
Visit Today!
The History Center is located within the historic 1915 National Guard Armory, complimented by the award-winning contemporary Laird Norton Edition.
Know Before You Go
All-terrain wheelchairs available
Automatic/power-assist doors
Companion restrooms
Wheelchair accessible elevator
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking
Wheelchair accessible restrooms
Wheelchair accessible seating
Wheelchair-friendly inside walkways
Phone: 507-454-2723 ext. 3
History Center
ON EXHIBIT
History
We are updating the Main Exhibit Hall at the History Center. There will always be plenty to see, and we thank you for your patience during this multi-year project.
Check out our Current Exhibits
- Winona’s Lumber Industry
- General Store
- Stories & Structures: How Buildings Tell Us About Ourselves
- Voices of the Armory
- Security State Bank
- Flatliners Speed Society
- Walking Through Time (Children’s Exhibit)
- Traveling & Temporary Exhibits
- Winona Timeline
- The Cube
Art
Browse the Slaggie Family Lobby Art Gallery to see the work of local artists. Co-curated by Art of the Rural, River Arts Alliance, and Winona County History Center staff, the gallery offers an intimate venue for regional creators to share their work with the people of Winona County and its visitors.
Check Out Our Current Show
Watershed | A River Arts Alliance Juried Exhibition
Through November 17
River Arts Alliance presents a new, juried visual art exhibition at the History Center Gallery. Watershed will feature the work of artists living within 150 miles of Winona, in a region centered on the Upper Mississippi River. Pieces in the show are selected by Nicole Soukup, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
Satellite
MUSEUMS
Bunnell House
Visit Today!
Free for WCHS Members and Children 7 and younger.
At the Bunnell House visitors take a step back to the 1850s. Willard Bunnell was up to no good and traveled west to escape a run-in with the law over some silver coins. Come tour their unique steamboat gothic house and learn what life was like as canoes gave way to steamboats. At the Bunnell House visitors take a step back to the 1850s. Willard Bunnell was up to no good and traveled west to escape a run-in with the law over some silver coins. He was a trapper, fur trader, and strong willed man. His wife Matilda, who spoke French, Dakota and Ojibwa, soon followed. Their children moved on when they both died of tuberculosis about ten years later, and Willard’s brother Lafayette moved in, who was quite the character himself. Come tour their unique steamboat gothic house and learn what life was like as canoes gave way to steamboats.
The Bunnell House is not fully accessible. There are steps and uneven ground.
Know Before You Go
Open on select Fridays and Saturdays
- July 19 & 20
- August 2 & 3
- September 20 & 21
36106 Old Homer Road, Winona, MN 55987
$5 Adults – $3 Students
Free for WCHS Members and Children 7 and younger
Know Before You Go
Open on during:
- Winona County Fair, July 11 – 14, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Gladiolus Days, August 24 – 25, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Winona County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, MN
Free will donation
Rural Heritage Museum
Visit Today!
Free for WCHS Members and Children 7 and younger.
Opened in 2017, WCHS’ newest museum is at the Winona County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Minnesota. Visitors can explore the museum exhibit building, the Gainey-McCarthy Schoolhouse, the Hill sisters’ log house, and an early log barn, all offering insights into Winona County’s agricultural heritage. Opened in 2017, WCHS’ newest museum is at the Winona County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Minnesota. Visitors can explore the museum exhibit building, the Gainey-McCarthy Schoolhouse, the Hill sisters’ log house, and an early log barn, all offering insights into Winona County’s agricultural heritage.
The Heritage Museum is on uneven ground. The museum building is accessible. The historic buildings all have steps to enter.
Participate
IN HISTORY
Enjoy The Many Benefits Of Membership!
- Free Admission to WCHS Museums
- Discounted tickets and activity fees
- Free subscription to The Argus, a bi-monthly journal of articles and Society news
- Facility rental discounts
- 10% discount on purchases in the History Center Shop all year and 25% off in December
- Plus More!