Price Creek

Price creek, located in Lenox and Washington townships in northeastern Iowa county and some in Benton county, is a 13-mile long creek just north of Amana proper near highway 151. There are an additional 28.5 miles with its tributaries and flowing ditches. It starts in Washington township, flows through Amana and eventually joins the Mill Race southeast of Amana as it enters the Iowa River south. The Price Creek valley is two miles wide at its upper end and four miles at its widest. It serverd as an important water source for livestock in the area but did not supply enough water for Amana' s so the mill race was built in 1863 to help that.  The creek flows near a theatre whose stage bears it's name, Price Creek Stage. Geologist, Dr. David Owen, (1807-1860), surveyed the Price Creek area in Iowa county first. Later came Stookey (1910) who noted Price Creek lay in the flood plain of the Iowa River and that various rock as limestone and sandstone were quarried by early Amana settlers for building purposes. The creek was rerouted to remove a bend where our favorite swimming hole was. We would also ride innertubes down its more rapid waters to the west, under the 151 bridge, and back down to the swimming hole. Such fun it was!