The Amana Society, Inc. is a legacy corporation offering quality products and services built on a historical heritage.

The Amana Society, Inc. remains true to The Amana Way through integrity, responsibility, sustainability, quality, and entrepreneurship.

Established in 1932, The Amana Society, Inc. is a one-of-a-kind legacy corporation located in the Amana Colonies with businesses that produce handcrafted furniture, unique woolens, authentic German foods, livestock, crops, energy production, forest products, and community services.

Businesses such as the Amana Woolen Mill, the Amana Meat Shop, the Amana General Store and the Amana Furniture and Clock Shop, once a part of the original immigrant life style, remain as thriving businesses within the Amana Society, Inc., reflecting a portrait of quality passed on from one generation to the next.

The Amana Society, Inc. offers national distribution of their products and provide a unique experience for visitors to observe craftsmen at work, savor Amana-made foods, and enjoy annual events within the beauty of the Amana Colonies, one of Iowa’s largest tourist locations.

History

In the early 1840s, a group of God-fearing immigrants left Germany in search of religious freedom in the new world, settling in Ebenezer, New York. In 1855, they re-established themselves in 26,000 acres in the fertile Iowa River Valley. There they settled seven villages and called their home “Amana,” meaning “remain true.”

They lived communally in a religious environment, worked the land for farming and built industries to provide life’s necessities – woolen mills, cabinet shops, meat shops, bakeries and others. Each member contributed a particular skill and worked for the common good of the community. They also embraced new technology and obtained a number of patents for innovations in their industries and mills.

The communal life style was abandoned in 1932 and the Amana Society Corporation was established to continue the management of the land, the industry, and several community services within Amana Colonies. Many descendants of the original settlers remain in Amana working as craftsmen and passing down their trades to new generations. The excellence of Amana products continues to attract national attention for its superb workmanship.