of the oldest companies in the nation. The company also trades in Canada, China and as of May 2009 in the United Kingdom as Watkins UK. The company museum and factory are open for visitation and touring 6 days a week. For a decade (1907–1917) Winona was home to pioneer American composer Carl Ruggles. Carl (Charles Sprague) Ruggles was born in East Marion, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1876. Trained as a violinist, he also studied theory and composition in Boston with Josef Claus and John Knowles Paine. (Plans to study composition with Dvorak in Prague were put off when a financial sponsor died). In 1907, he moved to Winona, where he founded, and for a decade conducted, the Winona Symphony. He also gave lessons, composed, and began painting during this time. Ruggles is often referred to together with composer Charles Ives. In 1947 the Edstrom brothers (Harold and Everett), along with fellow musician Roger Busdicker, founded the Hal Leonard Corporation, currently the largest publisher of sheet music in the world. Winona's population reached 19,714 in 1900, but thereafter declined for some years after the collapse of the lumber industry. There are numerous entries on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Winona County, Minnesota. The City of Winona has two historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places: the Winona Commercial Historic District and East Second Street Commercial Historic District. They are combined into a single local historic district administered by the city's Heritage Preservation Commission. References Winona, Minnesota Winona, Minnesota