Photos: The Mighty Mississippi
View historical photos of the Mississippi River.
Pieces of the Past - River
Levee Park, flooded in April 1920 after the Mississippi River water level rose to 16.3 feet. For more historical photos and stories, visit winonadailynews.com/piecesofthepast.
Pieces of the Past - River
The present Winona interstate bridge was built in 1941 by the Industrial Contracting Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The steel beams being laid in place were fabricated in Gary Indiana and move by barge to the site via the Illinois River.
Pieces of the Past - River
Note the long narrow strip boats that were made in Winona, and were also the pride of anyone able to own one of them. These boats were able to be rowed in a straight line with just one oar because of their pointed bow and deep keel. Rowing with one oar enables a single person to fish while continually moving the boat to a new spot rather than waiting for the fish to come to the boat.
Chicago-Northwestern railroad bridge
The bow-boat Lotus and a stern boat is shown passing by the Chicago-Northwestern railroad bridge at Winona. The stern boat did the pushing while the bow-boat did the steering. The pilot in the stern-boat would signal the bow-boat to come ahead, back up or stop.
Pieces of the Past - River
The steamer, Robert Harris, a small short-line packet and excursion boat, was owned and operated by Captain Peter Schneider and William Heck, its engineer. It made regular runs between Fountain City, Wisconsin and Winona between 1875 through 1905. On Christmas Day of 1888, the weather was mild and the channel was open so the Robert Harris offered an excursion on the river. The passengers were lightly dressed, but toward evening the air turned colder and the river froze over the following day.
Pieces of the Past - River
The steamer, Frontenac, was seriously damaged and sank on June 13, 1915 when it struck the Burlington Draw Bridge pier after being swung around during a heavy wind. The steamer was refloated and after a year of repairs, it set sail again, but not in the Winona area.
Pieces of the Past - River
The Winona high wagon bridge was constructed in 1891 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company and was completed in June of 1892 at a cost of $100,000. It first operated as a toll bridge with charges ranging from 5 to 25 cents. The paddleboat seen in the construction zone was the steamer Helen Mar out of the port of La Crosse.
Pieces of the Past - River
Interstate Bridge over the Mississippi River in 1943. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Speedboats line the shore of the Mississippi River in Winona for racing during Steamboat Days in 1982. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Year after year, John Latsch was saddened at the news of youngsters drowning in the improvised swimming holes around Winona. In 1905, he decided to build the Winona Public Baths in the Mississippi River’s back channel. The bathhouse was moved to the main channel in 1923 and the city officially closed Latsch beach in 1974.
Pieces of the Past - River
The Nominee, captained by Orrin Smith, brought the first settlers to Winona in 1851.
Pieces of the Past - River
An aerial view Friday of the Interstate Bridge looking southeast into Winona in 2007. The bridge opened to traffic in 1942 and served as the only Mississippi River crossing for motor vehicles from Winona, Minn., to Wisconsin. (Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News)
Pieces of the Past - River
An aerial view Friday of the interstate bridge looking southeast into Winona in 2008. The bridge opened to traffic in 1942 and served as the only Mississippi River crossing for motor vehicles from Winona to Wisconsin.
Pieces of the Past - River
Jenni McCool, left, and her husband, Sol Simon, of Fountain City, paddle towards Levee Park across the Mississippi River in 2008 when the Interstate Bridge was closed. (Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News)
Pieces of the Past - River
An aerial view in late August over the Mississippi River looking upstream with Winona on the left in 2007. (Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News File Photo)
Pieces of the Past - River
Wing dam construction. Undated. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
The Wilkie on Levee Park during flood. Photo taken April 17, 2001. (Winona Daily News file photo)
Pieces of the Past - River
Undated photo of Winona water front. Winona & St. Paul Passenger and Freight Station and Steamboat Wharf.
Pieces of the Past - River
Steamboat War Eagle in 1854.
Pieces of the Past - River
Winona before 1850 - An artist’s rendition of what the future site of Winona looked like when it was occupied by the Dakota Sioux. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past
Undated photo of downtown Winona on the Mississippi River.
For more historical stories and photos, visit our special online section at winonadailynews.com/piecesofthepast.
Pieces of the Past - River
Undated photo of the J.W. Van Sant raising another river boat. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Lumberjacks sort logs at Beef Slough, near the mouth of the Chippewa River. The logs then were assembled into rafts and floated downriver to the sawmills. In 1892, at the height of the lumber era, Winona mills would turn out 148,000,000 board feet of lumber and 89,000,000 shingles and laid a plausible claim to being the preeminent sawmilling center of the world. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
The Annie Girdon pushes a raft of logs down the Mississippi River. Logs cut along the St. Croix and Chippewa rivers were sawed in the mills at Stillwater and Eau Claire to be floated south in great lumber rafts to supply the river frontier and beyond. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Last log raft in 1915. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Last log raft in 1915. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
Levee Park in April 1920.
Pieces of the Past - River
Latsch Island Boathouses in 1993. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Chicago and North Western swing bridge
Winona’s river front in 1872, with the new Chicago and North Western swing bridge in the background. The ferry boat “Turtle,” which took passengers across the Mississippi River between Latsch Island and Winona, is shown on the right.
Pieces of the Past - River
A cable ferry to cross the Mississippi River between Winona and Latsch Island started March 17, 1887, and ended July 4, 1892. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
Pieces of the Past - River
A log raft makes its way down the Mississippi River at the end of the lumber boom, in 1905. After trees were cut down along Minnesota and Wisconsin rivers, the logs were assembled into huge rafts to be floated down river to the mills. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society)
At first thought, a city with only one tree is an unlikely site for a sawmill.
At first thought, a city with only one tree is an unlikely site for a sawmill.
Few things made by man have been better fit for their task than a Mississippi River steamboat.
Few things made by man have been better fit for their task than a Mississippi River steamboat.
To Winona’s early settlers, the Mississippi was both a broad highway and a formidable barrier.
To Winona’s early settlers, the Mississippi was both a broad highway and a formidable barrier.
A local group’s plan to purchase the Minnesota Centennial Showboat and bring it to Winona is picking up speed and nearly ready for its launch …
More human body parts were found in the Mississippi River on Saturday.
Mississippi River clammers are getting better returns this season on the clams they secure on account of the catch bringing a higher price, bu…
If you’re interested in having your own island in the Mississippi River, Dakota County might just have a deal for you.
