A New Museum Experience Will Open at the Winona County History Center in Spring 2026!
The Winona County History Center will be constructing new exhibits this winter and early spring thanks to raising over $650,000 during the History is Present campaign. New exhibit installation will happen in two phases within the 1915 Armory space that houses the main exhibit hall in the History Center. Phase 1 construction will begin this December and be in full swing during January through April.
New and updated exhibits to open in May of 2026 include:
The River Gallery
The Mississippi River profoundly shaped the communities and people of the Winona area, and they in turn have a significant influence on the character of the river. The space that was the original running track for the 1915 Armory on level 2 will explore these relationships through industry, travel, conservation, geography, river vessels, the lock and dam system, life on the river, and more.
Dakota Connections
Through relationships, WCHS is learning how to better represent Dakota history. This exhibit accounts for past museum and history practices and centers Dakota perspectives through contemporary, indigenous-curated art displayed alongside Native artifacts from the WCHS collections.
Children’s Exhibit
Updates in the children’s exhibit will provide a richer and more engaging experience for kids and their families. Elevating the cave experience will involve the addition of petroglyphs, dramatically lit for easy viewing. A new play space and a reimagined steamboat pilot house are also part of the remodel.
Joy of the Arts
Take a look into the world of Winona County’s most entertaining family, the Huntleys. The fabulous Myrtle, with her camera ready husband, Ben, along with their son, Howard, swept the Midwest with their traveling shows and produced some of the very first motion pictures right here in Winona County.
This past year, thanks to a $64,850 grant from the Minnesota Humanities Center with MN Legacy funds, community surveys, ideas, and the Historical Society’s exhibit strategic plan was taken to the schematic design level. The process included partnerships with Community Curators, the Native Advisory Council, Engage Winona, and The Joy Labs. Community Curators, exhibits committee members, and staff met to hone topics and themes, look at new ways of telling old stories, and finding inspiration for a new exhibit experience at the History Center. Outhouse Exhibit Services and Brown Knows Design worked to convey all the ideas that were harvested into a schematic design package. Currently WCHS staff, volunteers, and contractors are working on exhibit scripts, making final image and artifact selections, and bringing it all together with beautiful graphics, audio, video, and interactives.
The main exhibit hall at the History Center will be closed during construction, but the Slaggie Family Art Gallery, The Museum Shop, and Laird Lucas Library and Archives will be open weekdays. Your favorite activities and programs will continue as well.
Next summer and fall the Winona County Historical Society will continue to develop the rest of the exhibits. Phase 2 construction will happen during that winter, and the rest of the exhibit hall update will be completed by summer 2027. Phase 2 exhibits include, Winona County Makers, Veterans and Wartime, Community Services and Connections, and a featured changing and traveling exhibit space.
The Winona County History Center is currently fully open, daily 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Starting December 27 the History Center Art Gallery, Museum Shop, and Archives will be open weekdays, closed weekends December 27 – March 1, and the main exhibit hall will be closed until May 2026. Follow progress and learn more at www.winonahistory.org and on social media @winonacountyhistory.
Winona County History Center is an organizational member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/.