Winona and St. Peter Railroad

The Winona and St. Peter Railroad was a railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1861 in Winona, Minnesota. The first from Winona to Stockton, Minnesota, were completed by the end of 1862, making the it the second operational railroad in Minnesota, after the St. Paul and Pacific Line from Saint Paul to St. Anthony Falls. Five years later its track reached Owatonna, Minnesota, connecting with the main line of the Minnesota Central Railroad, predecessor of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway line between Saint Paul and Austin, Minnesota. In 1885 the railroad was involved in the Supreme Court case Winona & St. Peter Railroad Co. v. Barney. The language of the land grant extensions needed to be clarified as to where the two railroad land grants interfered. The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (CN&W) purchased the controlling interest in the Winona and St. Peter in 1867. The line would reach Watertown, South Dakota, with the financial backing of the CN&W. In 1900 it became the Minnesota Division of the C&NW. History