Amana Colonies

Amana Colonies, settlement in Iowa county, east-central Iowa, U.S. It lies near the Iowa River, 20 miles (32 km) west-northwest of Iowa City, and comprises a group of seven small villages: Amana, East Amana, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana, and Homestead.

Amana developed from the Community of True Inspiration, founded in 1714 in the German principality of Hesse by the pietistic mystics Johann Friedrich Rock and Eberhard Ludwig Gruber. The community disintegrated after Rock’s death in 1749, but it was revived in 1817 by Christian Metz and Barbara Heinemann and became centred mainly in Württemberg. The sect encountered hostility from the civil authorities because of its members’ opposition to war, and in 1842 they emigrated to the United States, purchasing land near Buffalo, New York, where they established the communal Ebenezer Society. In 1855 about 1,200 members moved westward to Iowa, where 18,000 acres (7,300 hectares), later expanded to 26,000 acres (10,500 hectares), had been purchased. This new home was called Amana (after a mountain range in Lebanon referred to in Song of Solomon 4:8 and meaning “to remain true” or “to believe faithfully”) and was incorporated in 1859. Members gave up their property to a common fund and in return were promised economic security through life. In addition to communal property and opposition to military service, the citizens of Amana opposed taking oaths, amusement, and a paid ministry.

The community prospered at first but began to decline after the American Civil War. Financial disaster caused by the Great Depression necessitated “The Great Change,” the reorganization of the community in 1932. Members voted to separate religious and economic interests, and the community became more open to the outside world. Communal property was dissolved, and the villages were organized on the basis of a joint-stock corporation, called the Amana Society, with the workers as stockholders. In addition to its farms, the Amana Society operates factories that produce woolens, furniture, wines, bakery goods, and meat specialties. Amana Refrigeration, Inc., formerly a division of the Amana Society, manufactures refrigerators, freezers, and microwave ovens. The Amana Church Society, separately organized in 1932, continues its pietistic traditions, emphasizes Bible study and prayer, and remains the dominant force in the community. Simple worship services are conducted in German in unadorned village churches. The Amana Church Society, which is governed by elected elders and has no ordained clergy, had more than 500 members in four churches in the early 21st century. The Amana Colonies, designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1965, are a major tourist attraction that welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors each year. Pop. (2000 est.) 1,700.