Amana, IA

Amana is a census-designated place in the Iowa River valley, on the south side of Price Creek in Iowa County. It is one of the seven Amana Colonies and the village that gives the colonies their name. The Community of True Inspiration came to Iowa from Germany by way of New York in 1855, laid out six villages across the river valley, and added Homestead in 1861 to reach the railroad. Amana's name comes from a Hebrew biblical phrase meaning 'remain true.'

ATTRMostly Iowa Edits / CC BY-SA 4.0

Communal life shaped everything from farms and woolen mills to clock shops, breweries, bakeries, gardens, churches, kitchens, and schools. That system ended in 1932, when residents formed the Amana Society to manage farmland, mills, and larger enterprises under a profit-sharing arrangement. The National Historic Landmark designation came in 1965. Today, the village's brick, stone, and clapboard buildings, gardens, church, shops, and old industrial traces make the communal story readable right on the street. Amana is not a separate incorporated city; it is a named settlement within the larger Iowa County landscape.