mileage
48 RED WING station, 420 Levee Street. Elevation approximately 685. Red Wing was
named after the Dakota Indian Chiefs who forme3erlt lived in the area. The Chiefs were known as “Koo-poo-hoo-sha,” which means
“wing of the wild swan died scarlet.” The American Indian historian Frances Densmore , known as “Writing Down Woman,” wrote
over 20 books about local Indian customs, and was born in Red Wing. The village became the site of famous pottery works; the
first shop was opened by J. Pohl, a German immigrant potter by trade; the first Red Wing pottery was that of W. M. Philleo, who moved
to St. Paul in 1870 after his shop was destroyed by fire. Initial use of clay from the township's extensive clay pits is credited
to David Hallum, former associate of Philleo, who opened a shop that developed into the Red Wing Stoneware Company. The city
is also the home of the Red Wing Shoe Company, and the red Wing Shoe Museum is located downtown.
In the early 1850’s, settlers from Mississippi River steamboats came to Red Wing to farm the lush fields in Goodhue County. They grew wheat, the annual crop of which could pay the cost of the land. Before the railroads crisscrossed the territory, Goodhue
County produced more wheat than any other county in the country, and in 1873 Red Wing led the country in the amount of wheat sold
by farmers. The warehouses in the port of Red Wing could store and export more than a million bushels of wheat. Once the
railroads connected southern Minnesota with Minneapolis and Saint Anthony, where the largest flour mills were built, the port at Red
Wing lost prominence. In the last half of the 20th century, the United States Army Corps of Engineers built locks and dams and
deepened the channel in the river.
Red Wing was once home to Hamline University,
founded in 1854 as the first institution of higher education in the state of Minnesota. It closed in 1869 because of low enrollment
due to the American Civil War. It was chartered in St. Paul in 1871 and reopened there in 1880.
We are now entering the Wisconsin Driftless Area, which is a physiographic province which, for some reason, was not heavily glaciated
during the Pleistocene Ice Age. There are several theories as to how the area escaped glaciation, but they will not be described
in detail in this log. The result of this nonglaciation is that the rock exposed at the earth’s surface for the next couple
hundred miles will not be glacial drift, but weathered and eroded Paleozoic-aged bedrock, primarily from the Cambrian and Ordovician
Periods, which was deposited in the Hollandale Embayment (see MP 0.0 above). We will be in the Driftless Section until approximately
Wisconsin Dells.
48.5 Adjacent to the railroad on the right (eastbound) is the 400-ft high Barn Bluff, which is composed
of Lower Ordovician Oneota Dolomite, underlain by the yellowish colored Upper Cambrian Jordan Sandstone. At the very top of
the bluff is a thin deposit of either glacial drift or wind-deposited loess. The bluff is separated from the remainder of the
sedimentary rocks in the area by the Red Wing Fault, which is not visible from the train.
Barn Bluff was named for its resemblance to a barn by early settlers. Stephen H. Long climbed the bluff during his 1819 mapping
expedition, describing it as, "the sublime and beautiful here blended in a most enchanting manner." Explorer Jonathan Carver,
describing the view from Barn Bluff, wrote, "The most beautiful prospect that imagination can form. Verdant plains, fruitful
meadows, and numerous islands abound with the most varied trees. But above all, reaching as far as the eye can extend, is the
majestic, softly flowing river." The bluff was used as a limestone quarry for about 40 years until citizens protested the defacing
of the bluff. The quarrying operation was shut down in 1908. In 1910, the land was donated to the city as a park.
50 Just south of the railroad (right if eastbound) is the Minnesota Correctional Facility.
52 The bluffs
on either side of the railroad and highway are again composed of yellow Cambrian-aged Jordan Sandstone overlain by the Lower Ordovician
Oneota Dolomite member of the Prairie du Chien Formation.
54 Pass through Wacouta, which was settled
in 1850, organized 1858, and was named by George W. Bullard, the first settler, an Indian trader, who in 1853, platted a village around
his trading post. The village was named for an Indian Chief by that name, who was “very tall, straight, and dignified in his
demeanor. He was also a man of good judgment. His authority was not absolute. He rather advised his people than
commanded them. He encouraged industry and sobriety; was a friend to the missionaries, and sent his own children to their schools
when he was at home himself."
Grotes Pond is visible on the left (eastbound).
54.5 Rattlesnake Bluff is visible on the left (eastbound), another tall bluff composed of Upper Cambrian Jordan Sandstone overlain by Lower
Ordovician Oneota Dolomite. Rattlesnake Bluff is part of Frontenac State Park, a 2800-acre park containing scenic viewpoints
of the Mississippi River, Indian burial mounds, and abandoned limestone quarries. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are
available during the winter months.
57 Mt. Frontenac Ski Area & Golf Course are now plainly visible
on the right. The ski area had 17 named runs, 6 lifts, and 80 acres of skiable area. Its longest run was 4,000 feet in length. The ski runs have been closed and are now part of the 18 hole golf course.
58.5 Pass through Frontenac, which contained
the early Indian trading post of James Wells before 1850, and was permanently settled in 1854-57. The name commemorates Louis
de Buade de Frontenac, who was born in Paris, 1622, and died in Quebec, November 28, 1698. He was the French colonial governor
of Canada in 1672-82 and 1689-98. In 1854, the Garrard brothers came upon the area during a hunting trip and bought large tracts
of land. By 1857, the village was permanently established with the name of Westervelt, to honor the then postmaster, Evert 61V.
Westervelt. The name was changed to Frontenac in 1860 by the Garrard brothers.
61 The railroad
now approaches the Mississippi River again. This wide area in the river, along which we will pass for a few miles, is known
as Lake Pepin. This lake is 22 miles long and extends from just south of Red Wing on the north, to Wabasha on the south. The lake formed approximately 9000 years ago when the Chippewa River, in what is now Wisconsin, deposited large amounts of sand and
gravel at its confluence with the Mississippi River near Wabasha. The excessive amount of sediment carried by the Chippewa was
the result of glacial melting in the area at the close of the Ice Age, when large volumes of glacial ice melted and contributed more
sediment that the valley of the ancestral Mississippi River could handle, and therefore dammed a large portion of the Mississippi
River upstream.
At one time, Lake Pepin extended considerably further upstream,
almost to St. Paul. The lake was most likely named after King Pepin le Bref of the Franks, who was the father of Charlemagne
the Great.
63 The bluffs in the distance on the right (eastbound) are composed of Upper Ordovician Decorah
Shale (?). The Lake City Country Club may be visible on the right through the trees.
64 Enter WABASHA
County. This county, established October 27, 1849, commemorates a line of Dakota Indian leaders. Wapashaw (variously spelled)
was the name, in 3 successive generations, of the hereditary leaders having greatest influence among the Mississippi bands of the
Dakota. A second man bearing this name wore a covering over his left eye. The third Wapashaw's band occupied the country
below Lake Pepin, his principal village being on the Rollingstone Creek, near the site of Minnesota City.
65 Pass through Lake City, named after its location on Lake Pepin. The first known settler was Jacob Boody, who arrived in 1853. In the years to follow, several explorers passed through this area. The town was platted in 1855. The town supervisors
were given special powers by the State Legislature in 1864 to create a port market for grain. At Lake City the waters of Lake
Pepin were deep enough to allow for such a port. Soon the town became noted as a profitable market with the volume of trade
for the year 1866 bringing in a little over a million and a half dollars.
The
City of Lake City became incorporated in 1872 and since has continued to thrive in its location on beautiful Lake Pepin. It
is widely known for its attractive surroundings and bountiful fishing for every fresh water species. Lake City advertises itself
as the birthplace of water skiing, which Ralph Samuelson invented there in 1922. Each year the city celebrates Ralph's invention
in a 3 day festival in June. The festival is aptly named "Water Ski Days."
Little Laura Ingalls Wilder ("Little House on the Prairie") and her family spent some time here in 1874, on their way to Walnut Grove.
66.5 Again, the bluffs south of the railroad (right if eastbound) are composed of Lower Ordovician Oneota Group, overlying Upper Cambrian
Jordan Sandstone.
71 The small village of Maple Springs is visible across the small body of water on
the right (eastbound). Maples Springs was originally known as Kings Coulee, named after a small ravine, or coulee, on the property
of a settler named King.
75 Across the Mississippi River here mouth of the Chippewa River, where, at
the close of the ice age, the volume of sediment carried by the Chippewa into the Mississippi River was so much that the Mississippi
River was dammed to form Lake Pepin (see MP 61 above).
75.5 Reads Landing. The village is located on the site occupied
as a Dakota trading post by Augustine Rocque from about 1810 to 1825 or 1830; and later by Charles R. Read, who came here in 1847. Read was born about 1820 in England; he came to the United States when he was 10 years old, served in the American army in the Canadian
rebellion (1837-38), and was captured by the British and sentenced to be hanged. He was later pardoned and returned to the United
States, and in 1847, took charge of this trading post. Read died at Millville on October 9, 1900. The village was platted
in 1856 as Pepin, but that name was never used; the village was incorporated on March 5, 1868.
Look for a thin dolomitic lens in the adjacent roadcuts of Highway 61. The thin dolomitic lens is the Cambrian-aged Birkmose
Member of the Upper Cambrian-aged Tunnel City Group (formerly known as the Franconia Formation), which is primarily sandstone. The Birkmose dolomite member contains abundant Upper Cambrian-aged fossils.
We are now traveling downsection into the outcrop area of Upper Cambrian sedimentary formations of the Driftless Area.
77-78 Pass through Wabasha. The city was named after the last of 3 Indian rulers by the name, in 1843. Wabasha is the location
of the National Eagle Center, and is also the home of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, the oldest Episcopal church in Minnesota, which
features a Tiffany stained glass window. Several of the locations mentioned in the 1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men” are located in
Wabasha, and one scene from the movie (the “snow angel” scene ) was filmed here. Wabasha is also the home of the Arrowhead Bluffs
Museum, which features a large collection of American Indian and pioneer artifacts, as well as a collection of firearms and several
displays of North American wildlife.
Wabasha is also the home of Anderson House,
the oldest operating hotel in the state.
The bluffs on either side of the railroad
are composed primarily of Upper Cambrian Tunnel City Group sedimentary rocks.
79.5 On the right (eastbound) is Coffee Mill
Bluff, composed of Upper Cambrian Tunnel City Group sandstones (?). At the top of the bluff is the Coffee Mill Golf Club and
Ski Resort.
82 In this area, the bluffs along Highway 61 on the right are composed of Upper Cambrian
Wonewoc Sandstone, which was formerly known as the Ironton and Galesville Sandstones.
83 Cross Zumbro
Rover and enter Kellogg. This town founded in 1870, incorporated on February 14, 1877, and was named by officers of the Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad company, "in honor of a Milwaukee gentleman who furnished the depot signs," L. H. Kellogg, who died
in 1873.
We are traversing the edge of the Mississippi River flood plain; the
river is approximately 2.25 miles to the east (left if eastbound). Bluffs to the west (right if eastbound) are composed of Upper
Cambrian sandstones.
86 We are still passing bluffs composed of Cambrian-aged sandstones.
88-89 On the right, Rattlesnake Ridge is visible. This ridge is also composed of Upper Cambrian-aged sandstones and limestones.
91 Pass through Weaver as we again approach the shore of the Mississippi River. Weaver has long been known as the “White Bass Capital
of the World.” The village was platted in 1871, and was named in honor of William Weaver, a pioneer settler, who came from the
state of New York in 1857 and was one of the proprietors of this village site. Weaver was the village’s first postmaster.
94 Pass through Minneiska. The town is named after the Whitewater River, which is a translation of its Dakota name (Minne or Mini,--"water";
and ska -- "white"). The city was incorporated on March 4, 1857, reincorporated on April 7, 1921, and separated from the township
on May 9, 1921.
The prominent bluff adjacent to the railroad on the south (right
if eastbound) is composed of Upper Cambrian Tunnel City Group and Jordan Sandstone, and overlain by the Lower Ordovician Oneota Dolomite.
94.5 Enter WINONA County, which was established on February 23, 1854. The county was named for a Dakota woman, Winona, who was the
cousin of the last chief named Wabasha, both of whom were prominent in the events attending the removal in 1848 of the Winnebago Indians
from Iowa to Wabasha's Prairie (the site of the city of Winona) and thence to Long Prairie in Todd County.
97 Pass through John A. Latsch State Park. The bluffs adjacent to the railroad on the right (eastbound) are composed of Upper Cambrian
Jordan Sandstone, and are capped by the Lower Ordovician Oneota Dolomite member of the Prairie du Chien Group.
98.5 In
the river on the left (eastbound) is Mississippi River Lock & Dam No. 5, which was constructed and placed in operation in May
of 1935. The site underwent major rehabilitation from 1987 through 1998. The dam consists of concrete structure 1,619
ft long with six roller gates and 28 tainter gates, and an earth embankment 18,000 ft long. The lock is 110 ft wide by 600 ft
long.
99 Pass through the village of Whitman.
101 The bluffs we are passing remain unchanged
in their geologic composition, and still consist of Upper Cambrian ands Lower Ordovician sedimentary strata.
104 Pass through Minnesota City, which was platted in March 1852 for the Western Farm and Village Association, a colony of settlers from
New York. The community was named by Robert Pike for the Minnesota Territory. The Association was organized in New York
City in October, 1851, and the city was incorporated as a village on April 12, 1895.
106 Winona’s Max Conrad Airport
is now visible on the left (eastbound).
107 Pass through the town of Goodview, a suburb of Winona. The City
of Goodview began as a suburban settlement situated along Minnesota City Road and 6 blocks west of the Winona City limits. Clarence
F. Witt, the original owner, announced that the area would be called Goodview Subdivision. Many years ago, the current site
of Goodview served as the summer camp for constantly moving Indian tribes. Its proximity to the bounty of the river and the
abundant wildlife of the valley and the bluffs made in an ideal stopover for the Indians who lived and thrived off of the offerings
of nature. For many years after Captain Orrin Smith founded Winona in 1851, the sand river plains north and west of that new
city served as a Sioux Indian campsite. Chief Wapasha led his tribe often to this area so he could help his people become accustomed
to the new settlers while keeping their distance as they practiced their rich native heritage.
110 The campus of
Winona State University is visible on the left (eastbound).
110.5 WINONA station, 65 E. Marks Street. Elevation approximately
660. The site of Winona was known to the French as La Prairie aux Ailes (pronounced O'Zell) or the Wing's Prairie, presumably
because of its having been occupied by members of Red Wing's band. It was later occupied by Wabasha, the last of the Dakota
leaders for whom the county next northward was named, whose village here was called Keoxa.
Lieutenant Zebulon Pike left Fort Bellefontaine on August 9, 1805 with orders to find the source of the Mississippi. On September
14, 1805, he reached the Mississippi Valley near Island Number 72, which would one day be Winona, Minnesota, and recorded his impressions
in his log. Less than 50 years later, Pike's Island 72 was selected by Captain Orrin Smith as a townsite on the west bank of
the Mississippi River. For over 25 years, Smith had sailed the river between Galena, Illinois and Fort Snelling, Minnesota as
owner and pilot of the river packet Nominee. In 1851, Smith learned that the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota would
establish a reservation in the interior of the state, and realized that there would be a rush to develop townsites on the Minnesota
side of the river. On October 15, 1851 Orrin Smith became the founder of Winona, by landing his ship's carpenter, Mr. Erwin
Johnson, and two other men with the purpose of claiming title to the riverfront and surrounding prairie land. When the town
site was surveyed and plotted by John Ball, United States Deputy Surveyor, it was given the name of "Montezuma", as requested. Henry D. Huff bought an interest in the town site in 1853. With the consent of Capt. Smith, Huff erased the name of Montezuma and
inserted the name of Winona on the plot, a name derived from the Dakota Indian word "We-no-nah", which translates to "first-born daughter"
(of Chief Wapasha III).
Winona today is a leading industrial and business center
in southeastern Minnesota. It is also known for its limestone quarries, the stone being quarried from Lower Ordovician limestone
and dolomite formations. It is the home of the Julius C. Wilkie Steamboat Center, of Garvin Heights Park, Winona County Historical
Museum, and the Polish Cultural Institute.
Garvin Heights Park is located on
the bluffs on the right (eastbound), across from the AMTRAK station. From the bluffs, which are composed of Upper Cambrian Jordan
Sandstone overlain by Ordovician-aged Oneota Dolomite, one can see that the City of Winona has been built on a filled channel of the
Mississippi River. Much of downtown Winona, in fact, is located on a gravel river bar deposited by torrents of Glacial River
Warren, which flowed down the Mississippi Valley at the close of the Ice Age. The river bar was then filled with more sand and
gravel as the River Warren continued to deposit loads of sediments from the Superior glacial lobe to the north (see MP 5 above).
115 Homer, which was platted in 1855, was named by Willard B. Bunnell, a brother of the County Historian, for his birthplace, the village
of Homer, in New York state. The yellow Upper Cambrian Jordan Sandstone is exposed near the level of the highway adjacent to
the railroad.
117 Across the river, on the left (eastbound), the prominent peaks of Trempeleau Mountain and Bradys
Bluff, in Perrot State Park, Wisconsin, can be seen. These bluffs are composed of the Middle Cambrian Wonewoc Formation (formerly
known as the Ironton and Galesville Sandstone). Perrot State Park is also known for its Woodland Indian mounds and artifacts.
119.5 Pass
through village of Lamoille, which was named after a river and county in northern Vermont. The village developed at the point
where the stage route crossed the Mississippi River.
Bunnels Bluff and Eagle
Bluff are visible across the river. These bluffs are again composed of Cambrian-aged sandstones.
121 Mississippi
River Lock & Dam no. 6 is now visible on the left (eastbound). The dam was constructed and placed in operation in June 1936. The last major rehabilitation was from 1989 to 1999. The dam consists of an 893 ft long concrete structure with 5 roller gates
and 10 tainter gates. Its earth embankment is 2,600 ft long and the concrete overflow spillway is 1,000 ft long. The lock
is 110 ft wide by 600 ft long.
124 Pass through the community of Donehower. Bluffs adjacent to the railroad
continue to be composed of Cambrian sandstones.
We are passing through the Great
River Bluffs State Park. Visible from the railroad are the 2 highest peaks in the park, King and Queens Bluffs, which are composed
of yellow Upper Cambrian Jordan Sandstone, overlain by the Lower Ordovician Oneota Dolomite. Above the dolomite is a wind-blown
deposit known as loess. Loess consists of silt-sized particles blown by the wind from nearby high areas and glacial moraines. Loess soils are generally quite fertile, and thus support excellent farmland on top of the bluffs.
126 Lutherhaven
Camp is nestled at the foot of the bluffs on the right (eastbound).
129 Pass through Dakota, which was named after
the Dakota Indians. The city was incorporated as a village on May 23, 1951. It was laid out in 1855 and developed in 1859
by Nathan Brown, who came to Minnesota in 1847, had a stockyard, and ran a ferry service to Wisconsin. Once the center of berry
growing, the main industry in the area is now apple growing.
Interstate 90 has
now joined Highway 61, which we have been following for some time now.
129.5-130 Pass through Dresbach, which named in honor
of George B. Dresbach, who was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, August 27, 1827, came to Minnesota in 1857, founded this village, owned
a farm and stone quarries, and was a representative in the legislature in 1868 and 1878. The village was first settled in 1852
by a colony of French settlers; it was purchased by Dresbach in May 1857 and platted in September. The name was changed to Sherwood
during 1864-66, and was changed again in 1866 back to Dresbach. The site had a Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad station,
a sawmill, brickyards, lead mines, and limestone and sandstone quarries. Much of the village was removed or razed in 1960 because
of Highway 90 construction, and only a few of its Victorian homes remain.
131 In this area, look for road and railroad
cuts in horizontal beds of Cambrian-aged sandstones, which are indicative of deposition in shallow seas. Some of the sandstone
exposures are overlain by Oneota Dolomite, and the Jordan Sandstone is often extensively burrowed by small wormlike organisms in this
area.
132 Mississippi River Lock & Dam no. 7 is visible in the river here. This facility was constructed
and placed in operation in April, 1937, and underwent major rehabilitation from 1989 through 2002. The system consists of a
concrete structure 940 ft long with 5 roller gates and 11 tainter gates, a segment of earth embankment 8,100 ft long from the dam
to French Island, separated by a concrete spillway 1,000 ft long, and another embankment 2,400 ft long from French Island, Wisconsin
to Onalaska, Wisconsin which has a concrete spillway 670 ft long. The lock is 110 ft wide by 600 ft long.
133 At this point, Interstate 90 crosses the Mississippi River and enters Wisconsin.
134 At River Junction, the Empire
Builder bends onto a different rail line and prepares to cross the Mississippi River just north of La Crescent, the city which is
known as the “apple capital of Minnesota.”
Enter HOUSTON County, which was established
on February 23, 1854, and named in honor of Samuel Houston, who was President of Texas before its annexation by the United States,
and afterward was a senator from that state. Houston was born near Lexington, Va., on March 2, 1793; and he died in Huntsville,
Tex., July 26, 1863. In his youth he lived several years with the Cherokee Indians near his home in eastern Tennessee; later
he served in the Creek War, 1813-14, winning the admiration of Gen. Andrew Jackson by his bravery in a battle, after being severely
wounded. He studied law and was admitted to practice, 1818-19; and was a member of Congress from Tennessee, 1823-27; and Governor
of that state from 1827-29.
135-136 As we cross the Mississippi River, we will at first cross the main channel of the river,
then we will cross a small island known as Minnesota Island, then another main channel of the river, several smaller channels, and
we will finally cross the Black River as we enter La Crosse.
135.5 Enter LA CROSSE County, WISCONSIN. Both La Crosse County and
the City of La Crosse were named by early French explorers after the game of lacrosse, which they observed the local Indians playing,
and the game reminded them very much of their own game of tennis. The village was first known as Prairie de la Crosse.
As you cross the bridge, look behind you on the right (eastbound) or ahead of you on the left (westbound) to see the French Island
Generating Plant, on French Island. Unit 1 and 2 are boiler/steam turbine units originally constructed in the 1940’s to operate
on coal. They were converted to burn oil in the early 1970’s. When oil became too costly, alternative fuels were used. Unit 2 was converted to burn waste wood in an Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion Boiler in the early 1980’s, with unit 1 following
in 1987.
Geologically, we are still traversing the Driftless Section, and we
will be until just beyond Wisconsin Dells. Rock units which we will see will continue to be primarily Cambrian-aged sandstones
of the Wonewoc and Tunnel City Formations, most of which were deposited in shallow seas of the Hollandale Embayment 9see MP 0.0 above)
during a time when this part of the country was located in a much more tropical environment than it is nowadays.
137 LA CROSSE station, 601 St. Andrew Street. Elevation approximately 650. La Crosse was incorporated as a city in 1856, but
its history dates further. The first Europeans to see the site of La Crosse were French fur traders who traveled the Mississippi
River in the late 17th century. There is no written record, however, of any visit to the site until 1805, when Lt. Zebulon Pike
mounted an expedition up the Mississippi River for the United States. The first white settlement at La Crosse occurred in 1841. That year, a New York native named Nathan Myrick moved to the village at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to work in the fur trade. Myrick was disappointed to find that, because many fur traders were already well-entrenched there, there were no openings for him
in the trade. As a result, he decided to establish a trading post upriver at the then still unsettled site of Prairie La Crosse. In 1841, he built a temporary trading post on Barron Island (now called Pettibone Park), which lies just west of La Crosse's present
downtown. The following year, Myrick relocated the post to the mainland prairie, partnering with H.J.B. Miller to run the outfit.
A small Mormon community settled at La Crosse in 1844, building several dozen cabins a few miles south of Myrick's post. Although
these settlers relocated away from the Midwest after just a year, the land they occupied near La Crosse continues to bear the name
Mormon Coulee.