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Pickwick, Minnesota

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1930 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Homer Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55987. It lies near Little Trout Valley. The Survey maps it on the Pickwick quadrangle.

Pickwick within Winona County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

3,708 words on this township

History of Winona County, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Homer Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The township is traversed by two creeks, Cedar creek and Big Trout run. Cedar creek rises in the southwestern part of the township, flows northeast, and empties into the Mississippi river on Sec. 1. Big Trout run is formed by numerous springs in the southern part of the township ; at Pickwick it broadens into a small lake, and furnishes water-power for a large flour-mill ; from Pickwick the stream flows northeast, and leaves the township on Sec. 13. It finally terminates in the Mississippi on Sec. 8, in Richmond township.

Passage source: History of Winona County, published 1883.

Pickwick village, and indeed all Homer township, was very much agitated over news received in 1862 that the Indians were planning an attack upon the settlement. People came flocking from all parts of the township to the stone-mill in Pickwick, intending to use it as a fort. It was a false alarm, however, caused by untrue statements and exaggerated reports. The Indians were at the time on the war-path at Mankato, but Pickwick had no cause for alarm.

Passage source: History of Winona County, published 1883.

Pickwick was laid out in 1857. It stands on Sec. 13 of Homer township, at the head of a tiny lake formed by the expansion of Big Trout Run. It is almost surrounded by high blufis, and is widely known for its picturesque situation. Big Trout Run flows 'northeast from the village, and its zigzag course can be traced for miles down the valley by the willows growing on its banks. The village was named after ''Pickwick Papers," by Charles Dickens. Thomson Grant, who came in 1853, was the first settler in the village. The first store was owned by Ferdinand Cox, who came in 1855.

Passage source: History of Winona County, published 1883.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Homer Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Fires near this place

28 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Pickwick between 1992 and 2020, burning about 46 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning9
Railroad operations and maintenance6
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Smoking2
Arson/incendiarism2
Natural2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
25 August 2014Naturalunder an acreTrempeleau National Wildlife RefugeBFC
7 July 2002Smokingunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 July 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 July 2006Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 June 1994Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 May 2020Smoking1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2023
7 May 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 May 2004Naturalunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Winona County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Pickwick: 6 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Trempealeau Dolomite Quarry #1Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Trempealeau Dolomite Quarry #2Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Yeadke QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Frank Eichman PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
G Stetzer Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
H Kohnle Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sonsalla Farms Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Trempealeau Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Winona County

Storms near this place

9 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pickwick in 9 storm reports between 2005 and 2025: 5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2024HailPickwick$23,000Local officials reported golf ball sized hail in Pickwick.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindPickwick$5,000A path of snapped off trees occurred near Pickwick.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindPickwick$2,000Trees were snapped off in Pickwick.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindPickwick$500Large trees were blown down.
May 2025HailPickwick-The public reported quarter sized hail in Pickwick. The report was relayed via photo through email.
July 2024HailPickwick-Local officials reported ping pong ball sized hail south of Pickwick.
June 2014Funnel CloudPickwick-A brief funnel cloud was sighted northwest of Pickwick.
July 2013HailPickwick-no account filed
August 2005HailPickwick-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Winona County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Lamoille1.8 miles11
Homer4.3 miles18
Donehower4.9 miles14
Ridgeway5.9 miles11
Nodine6.1 miles14
New Hartford7.2 miles14
Witoka7.4 miles11
Sugarloaf7.5 miles18

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 649388. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.