In Eastern Iowa, a small community welcomes visitors to leave their hectic lives, and enjoy the simple pleasures the Amana Colonies has to offer.
The Amana Colonies consist of seven villages spread across 26,000 acres of farmland near the Iowa River. There are approximately 1,700 people living in the villages today, and over 475 historic buildings and sites throughout the colonies.
What distinguishes the colonies is that the community was founded under the principal of communalism, and that it would become one of America’s longest-lived and largest religious communal societies.
Persecution and an economic depression forced a group called the Inspirationists to leave their homeland of Germany in 1843. In 1855, the community left Buffalo, New York, for tracts of available farmland in Iowa. The leaders of the community chose the name “Amana” from the Song of Solomon 4:8, meaning “remain faithful.”
Within the community, property and resources were shared and men and women were assigned jobs by their village council of brethren. No wages were paid. In 1932, during the Great Depression, Amana set aside its communal way of life. The Amana church was maintained, but the community established the Amana Society, Inc., a profit-sharing corporation, to manage the farmland, the mills and the larger enterprises according to the Amana colonies Web site.
In 1965, the entire settlement of the Amana colonies was declared a National Historic Landmark, opening up its doors to the outside world.
Even before 1965, capitalism played a role in the colonies. The Amana mills and factories were among the first established in Iowa, and the woolen mills were widely known for quality and value.
Tourists can visit the Amana Woolen Mill, Iowa’s only operating woolen mill, and experience how Amana wool and cotton blankets are made.
The community still remains faithful to its roots of craftsmanship. Many of the original Amana Colonies’ products, such as hardwood furniture, clocks, crafts, woolens, meats, cheese, breads, wines and other items are available in a variety of shops throughout the villages.
The High Amana General Store was built in 1858 and little has changed since the day it opened it doors. The shelves are stocked with dry goods and merchandise from the past, and the smell of handmade soap and kerosene lanterns lingers.
There are a variety of shops within the colonies that include kitchen ware, handmade Iowa quilts, books, sterling silver, Native American turquoise, and a wealth of antique shops.
In the past, each village had its own tinsmiths, blacksmiths, locksmiths, woodworkers, broom makers, weavers and clockmakers to create beautiful, simple things for everyday life.
The Amana Arts Guild, a not-for-profit organization of Amana Colonies artists and supporters, offers gallery exhibits and workshops open to the public, and a shop featuring both traditional Amana Colony craftwork and contemporary artwork by Guild members.
The villages’ communal kitchens have evolved into restaurants that serve visitors in the Amana Colonies family style. Each restaurant in the colonies is locally owned and operated and has a distinct atmosphere and menu.
The Amana’s oldest restaurant is the Colony Inn, opened in 1935 in the former Amana Hotel. The Ox Yoke Inn was established in 1940 in what was a communal kitchen house, and serves a complete menu of handcrafted foods. The Ronneburg Restaurant opened in 1950 by a former communal cook, Helen Zimmerman Graichen, and her family features German and American entrees.
The colonies have several specialty food shops that have earned a reputation for creating good food from recipes handed-down through time. The Hahn Bakery, The Amana Stone Hearth Bakery, the Amana Meat Shop and Smokehouse, Henry’s Village Market and the Chocolate Haus tempt visitors with their sights and smells.
Winemaking and brewing are deeply rooted within the colonies, as the colonists brought vine stock with them to Iowa when they settled. Amana Colonies wines and beers have earned awards and honors worldwide.
Each of the wineries offers samples of its wines, and visitors can shop directly at the winery, ship wine to those states allowing wine shipment, or look for wines made in the colonies at the grocery and specialty stores regionally.
The Millstream Brewing Company is Iowa’s oldest microbrewery, which uses the traditional method of making beer, only brewing in small batches to create top quality specialty beer. Additionally, Millstream Brewing has created specialty soft drinks like Old Time Root Beer, Cream Soda and Black Cherry Soda.
To accommodate the modern visitor, there are more than 500 hotel, motel and bed-and breakfast rooms available, plus camping, recreational vehicle facilities, meeting rooms, outdoor conference areas, a 275-seat proscenium theater, 18-hole golf course and several nature trails.
Throughout the years, the Amana colonies have changed but the communal spirit has remained, and is visible in the brick houses, the flower gardens, the lanterns ,the walkways, and in the small hints of the past that catch visitors by surprise.
For more information visit www.amanacolonies.org.
Jennifer Searcy is a Franklin College senior majoring in journalism news editorial and public relations. She is the photographer and director of design for midwestcultrualtourism.org.
