Rare Old Map of Winona, Minnesota by USGS, 1929: Fountain City, Mississippi River & Lake Winona
Restored in our workshop from the original 1929 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 25% off both. You can mix and match both maps and art.
No code is required. The offer is applied automatically.
Full terms and conditions
The Collector’s Offer applies to eligible works in standard made-to-order configurations. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded. Products with “personalised” or “custom” in their name are generally excluded.
The offer is administered as two separate automatic discounts: one for smaller formats and one for larger formats. To qualify, you must purchase two eligible works within the same format group. Maps and art prints may be mixed and matched within each group.
For example, two eligible A4 or 8 × 10 in prints qualify for 25% off both. One smaller-format print and one larger-format work do not qualify together, as items from different format groups cannot be combined to meet the two-item requirement.
No discount code is required. Any qualifying discount is applied automatically in your basket and at checkout.
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 25% off both. You can mix and match both maps and art.
No code is required. The offer is applied automatically.
Full terms and conditions
The Collector’s Offer applies to eligible works in standard made-to-order configurations. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded. Products with “personalised” or “custom” in their name are generally excluded.
The offer is administered as two separate automatic discounts: one for smaller formats and one for larger formats. To qualify, you must purchase two eligible works within the same format group. Maps and art prints may be mixed and matched within each group.
For example, two eligible A4 or 8 × 10 in prints qualify for 25% off both. One smaller-format print and one larger-format work do not qualify together, as items from different format groups cannot be combined to meet the two-item requirement.
No discount code is required. Any qualifying discount is applied automatically in your basket and at checkout.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the UK
Restored from the original 1929 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
- Made in the UK for fast, safe delivery
- Arrives perfect - or we replace it
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Enjoy free standard delivery to anywhere in the world. Free delivery usually arrives in 3 business days. Express or and next-day options are available at the checkout.
Personalised pieces need time for design and proof approval before printing. More delivery info.
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Simply enter the recipient’s delivery address at checkout. Add a gift message in the order notes and we’ll print it on a branded card. We don’t include prices in the parcel.
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Standard orders can be returned or exchanged within 90 days of delivery. Personalised and custom-made pieces are generally excluded from change-of-mind returns. See our returns policy.
Arrives perfect—or we replace it
If your order arrives damaged, send us a few photos and we’ll arrange a replacement free of charge.
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Published in 1929 from survey data of the same year, the US Geological Survey’s “Fountain City” presents the Winona, Minnesota region at...
Continue readingPublished in 1929 from survey data of the same year, the US Geological Survey’s “Fountain City” presents the Winona, Minnesota region at the historical 1:62,500 topographical scale, capturing a Mississippi River landscape of unusual drama and intricacy. Centered on the river corridor between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the map records Winona, Fountain City, Arcadia, Prairie Island, Lake Winona, and the adjacent valleys and ridges with the disciplined clarity characteristic of early twentieth-century federal cartography. Its muted topographic palette and close contouring reveal a terrain far more sculptural than the word “Midwest” often suggests: steep bluffs, coulees, marshlands, river bottoms, and elevated overlooks all rendered as an interlocking geographic system.
The US Geological Survey brought to this mapmaking project a reputation for precision earned through decades of national survey work. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the principal authority for the systematic mapping of American terrain, producing maps that served engineers, scientists, land managers, planners, and travelers alike. In “Fountain City,” that institutional rigor is evident in the careful treatment of roads, railroads, waterways, settlement patterns, and relief. The result is not merely a practical document but a portrait of a working landscape in 1929, when transportation corridors still closely followed the logic of riverbanks, valley floors, and passable grades through rugged hills.
Winona itself occupies a compelling position on the map, nestled between the Mississippi River and the imposing heights that rise to the south and west. Garvin Heights, one of the area’s notable overlooks, hints at the commanding views afforded by the surrounding bluffs, while Lake Winona and nearby marshland areas show the intimate relationship between the city and its watery setting. Across the river, Fountain City, Wisconsin appears within the same geographic theater, joined to Winona not simply by proximity but by the broader river economy and ecology. Prairie Island and the braided wetlands of the Mississippi floodplain lend the map a sense of movement, change, and seasonal complexity.
One of the map’s most absorbing qualities is its depiction of the Driftless Area, the geologically distinctive region that escaped the leveling effects of the last continental glaciers. Instead of broad, smoothed plains, the viewer encounters a sharply incised landscape of ridges, ravines, valleys, and bluff lines, articulated through dense contour intervals. These contours give the map its quiet visual rhythm: they gather tightly along steep slopes, relax across lowlands, and trace the hidden architecture of the land. The Mississippi River valley appears as a grand organizing feature, while tributary valleys and upland routes explain the placement of farms, roads, rail lines, and towns.
As a historical document, “Fountain City” preserves the geography of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin at a moment poised between rural continuity and modern transformation. Roads and railroads mark the practical networks of commerce and travel, while the natural reserves, parklands, marshes, and river margins suggest a landscape still deeply shaped by water, elevation, and seasonal inundation. Comparing this 1929 view with the present reveals changes in development, transportation, conservation, and land use, but the underlying form of the region remains unmistakable. The map’s elegance lies in that balance: it is at once scientific, historical, and evocative, a measured record of one of the Upper Mississippi’s most beautiful corridors.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Winona, Minnesota
- Fountain City, Wisconsin
- Arcadia, Wisconsin
- Minnesota River
- Mississippi River
- Prairie Island
- Garvin Heights
- Lake Winona
- Marshland areas
- Various contour lines indicating elevation changes
- Railroads and roads depicted along with their routes
- Parks and natural reserves in the vicinity
- Neighboring valleys and ridges
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the US Geological Survey in 1929.
- Produced using data from 1929.
- Classified as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map.
- Focuses on Winona, Minnesota and its surroundings.
- The USGS is known for producing accurate topographical maps and geological surveys for land use, natural resource management, and scientific research.
- Uses muted colors to represent elevation changes typical of topographic maps.
- Shows hilly and rugged terrain characteristic of the Driftless Area.
- Captures the geographical layout of the area in 1929, providing a reference point for changes in development, land use, and environmental features over time.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Published in 1929 from survey data of the same year, the US Geological Survey’s “Fountain City” presents the Winona, Minnesota region at the historical 1:62,500 topographical scale, capturing a Mississippi River landscape of unusual drama and intricacy. Centered on the river corridor between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the map records Winona, Fountain City, Arcadia, Prairie Island, Lake Winona, and the adjacent valleys and ridges with the disciplined clarity characteristic of early twentieth-century federal cartography. Its muted topographic palette and close contouring reveal a terrain far more sculptural than the word “Midwest” often suggests: steep bluffs, coulees, marshlands, river bottoms, and elevated overlooks all rendered as an interlocking geographic system.
The US Geological Survey brought to this mapmaking project a reputation for precision earned through decades of national survey work. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the principal authority for the systematic mapping of American terrain, producing maps that served engineers, scientists, land managers, planners, and travelers alike. In “Fountain City,” that institutional rigor is evident in the careful treatment of roads, railroads, waterways, settlement patterns, and relief. The result is not merely a practical document but a portrait of a working landscape in 1929, when transportation corridors still closely followed the logic of riverbanks, valley floors, and passable grades through rugged hills.
Winona itself occupies a compelling position on the map, nestled between the Mississippi River and the imposing heights that rise to the south and west. Garvin Heights, one of the area’s notable overlooks, hints at the commanding views afforded by the surrounding bluffs, while Lake Winona and nearby marshland areas show the intimate relationship between the city and its watery setting. Across the river, Fountain City, Wisconsin appears within the same geographic theater, joined to Winona not simply by proximity but by the broader river economy and ecology. Prairie Island and the braided wetlands of the Mississippi floodplain lend the map a sense of movement, change, and seasonal complexity.
One of the map’s most absorbing qualities is its depiction of the Driftless Area, the geologically distinctive region that escaped the leveling effects of the last continental glaciers. Instead of broad, smoothed plains, the viewer encounters a sharply incised landscape of ridges, ravines, valleys, and bluff lines, articulated through dense contour intervals. These contours give the map its quiet visual rhythm: they gather tightly along steep slopes, relax across lowlands, and trace the hidden architecture of the land. The Mississippi River valley appears as a grand organizing feature, while tributary valleys and upland routes explain the placement of farms, roads, rail lines, and towns.
As a historical document, “Fountain City” preserves the geography of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin at a moment poised between rural continuity and modern transformation. Roads and railroads mark the practical networks of commerce and travel, while the natural reserves, parklands, marshes, and river margins suggest a landscape still deeply shaped by water, elevation, and seasonal inundation. Comparing this 1929 view with the present reveals changes in development, transportation, conservation, and land use, but the underlying form of the region remains unmistakable. The map’s elegance lies in that balance: it is at once scientific, historical, and evocative, a measured record of one of the Upper Mississippi’s most beautiful corridors.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Winona, Minnesota
- Fountain City, Wisconsin
- Arcadia, Wisconsin
- Minnesota River
- Mississippi River
- Prairie Island
- Garvin Heights
- Lake Winona
- Marshland areas
- Various contour lines indicating elevation changes
- Railroads and roads depicted along with their routes
- Parks and natural reserves in the vicinity
- Neighboring valleys and ridges
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the US Geological Survey in 1929.
- Produced using data from 1929.
- Classified as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map.
- Focuses on Winona, Minnesota and its surroundings.
- The USGS is known for producing accurate topographical maps and geological surveys for land use, natural resource management, and scientific research.
- Uses muted colors to represent elevation changes typical of topographic maps.
- Shows hilly and rugged terrain characteristic of the Driftless Area.
- Captures the geographical layout of the area in 1929, providing a reference point for changes in development, land use, and environmental features over time.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 24 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 24 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
We work with interior designers, hospitality businesses, property professionals, offices and corporate buyers on individual pieces and larger coordinated projects.
This map can be adapted for a particular wall, room or project, and our workshop can help coordinate the dimensions, material and framing before production.
- Exact, oversized and made-to-measure dimensions
- Custom framing, mounting and alternative materials
- Coordinated pieces for several rooms or locations
- Map personalisation, to mark important locations or add extra details
- Map and framing guidance from our workshop
- Local production for projects around the world
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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