The Flour Mill

In the communal days of Amana before 1932, the Amana Society purchased anything deemed necessary  to run the Society efficiently such as raw wool, oil, starch, dyes, and such. Most of the grain was purchased from the outside for the flour mill, still standing in 1939. Cotton goods were purchased from the southern states and used in the calico printing process. Amana Society would also hire outside laborers to do industrial  and agricultural jobs.  Two flour mills, powered by the mill race in Amana, processed the community's  own small grains as well as those of neighboring farmers. Profits from these mills were used to purchase goods from outside the community. A 1923 fire destroyed the flour mill in Amana and the woolin mill causing great loss of capital. Below are some photos of the flour mill in West Amana.