Winona

Winona, Wynona or Wynonna may refer to:

Places

People

See also

Winona, Texas

Winona is a town in Smith County, Texas, United States. The population was 582 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tyler, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Delaware Indians lived in the area as early as 1818. The town was founded in 1870.

Geography

Winona is located at 32°29′27″N 95°10′16″W / 32.490836°N 95.171100°W / 32.490836; -95.171100 (32.490836, -95.171100).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.0 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 582 people, 217 households, and 157 families residing in the town. The population density was 372.8 people per square mile (144.0/km²). There were 237 housing units at an average density of 151.8 per square mile (58.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.77% White, 11.00% African American, 0.17% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.09% of the population.

There were 217 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.

Winona (legend)

Winona or Wenonah is a Dakota Sioux character in a "Lover's Leap" romantic legend set at Maiden Rock, which is on the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin in the United States. Winona is said to have leaped to her death from this high precipice rather than marry a suitor she did not love. This theme is found in a number of apocryphal, post-contact tales in the place-name lore of North America.

The legend

There are several variations of the story. Winona's father is sometimes said to be Chief Wabasha (Wapasha) of a village identified as Keoxa, now known as Winona, Minnesota, or perhaps Chief Red Wing of what is now Red Wing, Minnesota. Rather than marry a suitor she does not love, Winona chooses to leap from the cliff of Maiden Rock to her death. The story is very similar to the apocryphal legend of a young Cherokee woman of Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden, Alabama, as well as events in the fictional novel and film, The Last of the Mohicans.

The identity of the suitor depends on the version of the tale. Some versions feature him as a French trapper; others say he is a Native American of another tribe. In Last of the Mohicans the man is a brutal murderer, and the young woman chooses death over life as a slave or battered woman.