Watkins Museum — Attraction in Winona

I love the Watkins Museum and store in Winona, MN. At least 2 of my great aunt's, Mamie and her younger sister, Helen worked for Watkins in Winona, MN Mamie in 1910s, and both worked there in the 1920-30s. We visited the museum and store because in Illinois we can get some Watkins brand items but several items are not available unless you get them shipped. Figured we're here, save some shipping:) I got Orange bitters, vanilla extract powder, lemon powder seasoning vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks (which we're so much less expensive than just getting a way smaller bottle in a grocery store in Illinois). I got Orange and Aromatic bitters for my sister who is a trained bartender...

Found out that since I have family that worked at Watkins, even though it was a fairly long time ago, more than 100 years minimum:) I get the employee discount, which made our day. We got a foam cooler and ice and packed away the liquid extracts, and anything else that could possibly spoil, packed them in the cooler and put ice on top. Took little longer to drive home due to rush hour traffic after crossing first into Wisconsin from Minnesota, then even worse crossing from Wisconsin into Illinois.. basically the worst. Thanks so much to the Watkins Museum... We'll come back to visit again. Maybe I can find some pictures of my cousins when they...

Happened to be in Winona for the day and came here on a whim. The museum isn't large, but it's fairly dense, packing a lot of history and numerous exhibits into what is essentially just one large room. Special mention goes to the wood-brick flooring, the old vanilla processing equipment, and the many, many bottles and boxes of old Watkins products. The gift shop mostly consists of things you can find at the grocery store, but I will give a shout-out to their stock of baking supplies, including a one-gallon, $300 jug of pure vanilla extract. A leisurely visit takes less than an hour start to finish, but there's no entry fee, and the staff are really nice. Not necessarily a must-see, but a fun little diversion if you happen to be...

Very interesting history of the Watkins brand and how they built their products in Winona. Celebrating 150 years in one location is impressive for a start, along with the medical treatment of old and now primarily into spices and a speciality bourbon. The administrative building is now on the historical register of deeds, so the history will be around for many more years. Would be interesting to have a factory tour to see all the processes. Mary was our museum attendant and was super friendly and fun to visit with. We actually went back a second day to buy more spices and the naturally made sprinkles for ice cream. The sprinkles don’t have that waxy fake flavor. Will be trying the smoked maple rub this weekend...