Sugar Loaf is a bluff on the Mississippi River topped by a rock pinnacle, overlooking the city of Winona, Minnesota, United States. The name "Sugar Loaf" is sometimes taken to mean just the rock pinnacle, which was created by quarrying in the 19th century. The bluff stands above the junction of U.S. Route 61 and State Highway 43. It towers over Lake Winona (a former part of the Mississippi River's main channel), and the pinnacle rises more than above the remainder of the bluff.
Sugar Loaf was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for having local significance in the theme of entertainment/recreation. It was nominated for being one of Minnesota's most famous landmarks to early travelers and tourists; a popular subject for stereoscope images, travel literature, and folklore.
History
thumb|left|Sugar Loaf [[stereoscopic view card circa 1870, by Charles A. Zimmerman, 1844-1909]]
In its original configuration as a rounded half-dome with a fringe of evergreen on the crown, the bluff was well known to early explorers, traders, tourists, and river boat pilots. Native American legend has it that the mountain represented the cap of Chief Wapasha I transformed into stone. Another legend refers to a mythological dispute at the site of Red Wing, Minnesota, upriver from Winona in which a single bluff split into Barn Bluff (which remained at Red Wing) and Sugar Loaf, which was moved downriver to its present site. The name "Sugar Loaf" refers to the former formation's resemblance to the conical loaves that sugar used to be packaged and sold in. There are many hills and mountains named "Sugar Loaf" in the United States. At least three other hills or bluffs bearing the name "Sugar Loaf" are located in or near the Mississippi River Valley in proximity to Winona. In 1950, the Daughters of the American Revolution bought Sugar Loaf and the land around it to donate to the city of Winona. It has been a city park since then.
More than a few local businesses that incorporate Sugar Loaf into their names have been built at the base of the bluff. The Sugar Loaf name is also given to a neighborhood (which shows as a city on some maps) south and east of the hill. The former Sugar Loaf Brewery (Peter Bub's Brewery) building is nestled into the northeastern slope. The brewery complex, which extended caves into Sugar Loaf, is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gallery
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File:Sugar loaf Winona.webm
File:Sugar Loaf shot back.jpg
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File:Sugar Loaf updated trail head-2.jpg|Showing trailhead and parking area
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Winona County, Minnesota