Iowa I Opener: Amana Colonies overview

Although the great majority Americans lived on family farms or in cities in the 19th-century, hundreds of communal societies were founded as America expanded, among them were Brook Farm, New Harmony, and the Oneida Community. Of these only Oneida lasted more than a few years. All were religious-based, although Oneida included "complex marriages" in their commune.

Surviving much longer were the Amana Colonies of Iowa. They were founded by the Community of True Inspiration, a German Pietiest group. Central to their faith was humility--like the Quakers, their churches, except for the pews, were almost indistinguishable from other structures. After visiting the Amana Heritage Museum, I asked the tour guide where the old church was. She told me, but I couldn't find it even after I asked someone else to point it out to me. On the right is the former West Amana Church, which is now an art studio.

The Pietiests believed that God spoke through Werkzeuge, German for instruments, prophets that God spoke through. One of those Werkzeuge was Christian Metz. The German state of Hesse, which was closely tied to the Lutheran Church, was inhibiting the religious freedom of the Community. Metz brought his group to West Seneca, New York, near Buffalo in 1843 and founded a communal society. But they quickly outgrew the area--and scouts were sent west to find a larger area. After visiting Kansas Territory, they settled on property near the Iowa River which possessed what they needed: fertile soil, water, timber, stone for quarrying. Amana was chosen for the name of the settlement--the name comes from the Song of Solomon 4:8, it means "to remain true."

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Eventually there were seven Amana colonies: Amana, East Amana, Middle Amana, West Amana, High Amana, South Amana, and Homestead, which was purchased by the Inspirationists in 1861 so the villages could have access to the Rock Island Railroad. The loop road that connects the communities is seventeen miles long. Many of the buildings are sandstone brick structures, giving them a characteristic brown hue.

Metz died in 1867. The last Werkzeuge, Barbara Heinemann Landmann, died two years later.

Perhaps because of their name and their Germanic heritage, the Amana Colonies are often confused with the Amish. Although the Community of True Inspiration shared humility with the Amish, the Amana view of technology was utilitarian--if it worked, they used it. But radio, musical instruments, automobiles--but not tractors--were viewed as distractions, which led to the end of the commune. Members were not paid in cash but in credits that could be spend at colony general stores. Families didn't eat together, but ate meals in community dining rooms of thirty to forty people. Only moderate dress and conservative hairstyles were permitted. The lure of the outside world, a desire for families to dine together, a feeling that the more productive Inspirationists were not receiving their fair due, not to mention the stress of the Great Depression, led to a crisis in the colonies. In 1932, the members voted to dissolve the commune and replace it with a for-profit corporation, the Amana Society, which still manages 26,000 acres of land in the Amana region. Because the property wasn't divided among the residents, many of the original buildings survive. Within the towns, but mostly in Amana itself, there are many arts and crafts shops, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, as well as a micro-brewery. It's a heritage community, but this isn't Colonial Williamsburg. People eat, dress, and talk like everyone else.

The Amana Church still plays an important role in the colonies.

During the height of the Cold War, some hyper anti-Communists compared the Amana Colonies to the Red Menace. Uh, no. Members of the colony were required to attend church services eleven times a week. Religion kept the colonies going for almost eight decades. The Inspirationalists were astute business people: surplus farm goods were sold outside the community, and Amana had a calico and wool mill, the latter one still exists.

Next: Amana Mill Race

Earlier posts:

Anamosa State Penitentiary Cemetery
More about Stone City and Grant Wood

Stone City and Grant Wood
Where North Avenue ends
Field of Dreams
Guttenberg and its pool
A final look at Effigy Mounds National Monument
More Effigy Mounds
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Freedom Rock and Veterans Day
Pikes Peak
Buffalo Bill