Antique Images of Amana Colonies
Amana Colonies Communal Era Artifact and Area history
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Horseshoe Bottom Glasses
The glasses were originally made for jam, cheese or peanut butter containers. When the product was used up, the glasses were reused for wine and juice. Some old glasses as these were actually found in old dumps of the early to mid 1900's. Now they are found at Amana auctions, estate sales and local antique shops if used in Amana.
The majority of these glasses were probably made from c. 1900-1930.
Glass manufacturers of these horseshoe marked glasses were located in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Most well known of the makers were Ball Brothers of Muncie, Indiana; Fostoria of Fostoria, Ohio; and Hazel-Atlas of Wheeling, PA.
Broomstick Christmas Tree
The Fire Bucket
1848 Enenezer NY bucket |
Each village of the Amana Colonies had its water works and fire engine. Every strong man was a member of the fire department. The water supply came from deep artesian wells, the one in Amana being 600 feet deep. The one in Homestead was 2100 feet deep, supplying water for all the village needs. Men would form long lines, fill the fire buckets with that water and pass them down the lines to put a fire out. Buckets were made of tough leather, tightly stitched by the harness makers or shoe makers and printed with black letters to identify its station. The bucket handle was rolled and sewn, very strong. There was a bucket by each stove so it was readily available in case of fire. Early buckets in American history were made of gourds or leather. This is a very necessary, well made object now seen as a rare art form. They have quite a heritage, age, and design...The Amana Heritage Museum owns the black one.
Beer, Wine and Medicine Bottles
The pharmacies in the Amanas supplied the doctors with tinctures, medicines, salves, and much more for cures or to sooth any ailments in the community. Many different sizes of bottles have been found. Many are embossed in clear, brown or blue glass. Handwritten in old script with black ink are special features of the labels on bottles. Several were old typed labels. Very unique bottles.
Stifel Calico
Betty's Beading

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Cutting Boards
In old Amana communal era, cutting boards were made by the Colonie's talented woodworkers as a hobby, apprentice, or assigned job as a cabinetmaker, mostly in the winter when not farming. The boards were made to be simple, stable, and functional much like the lifestyle characteristics of old Amana.
Most of the boards were made from walnut, maple or cherry, the hardest woods found in the 5,000 acres of high quality timber near the Iowa River and upper hills of the seven villages. They ranged in size from small to very large, lap sized boards. Wood was cut at the local saw mills, milled, and taken to cabinet shops for making furniture and utilitarian tools. While not needing many tools to make these boards, woodworkers found them easier projects and a pleasure to make. Some cutting boards did come from Germany.
Many of the cutting boards were used in the many communal kitchens that served 50 to 60 people 5 times a day. It was not unusual to see several of the younger women there sitting with large tray-like cutting boards preparing a large quantity of vegetables for the next meal. It was even told that the walls there were to be as bear as a "planed board". Baked, hard crusty bread from local hearth bakeries was also cut on homemade bread boards.
These cutting boards are a foodie and antique collectors treasure as they are rare and from the communal era of old Amana Colonies.