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History · West Amana

51% of West Amana’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1888 on.

0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Amana’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about West Amana’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18883 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1968. Watch West Amana change.Old housesHalf of West Amana’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Amana’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Amana’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewB. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

West Amana on the map, 1888 to 1968

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Amana. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Amana on the 1888 USGS mapWest Amana on the 1899 USGS mapWest Amana on the 1968 USGS map1888Amana sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Amana.

The story

How West Amana came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Amana.

Read it all →

In 1881, West Amana had a population of 170 and contained a store.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Amana, 1888 to 1977

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe West post office opens
  5. 1977In the archiveB. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 WEST AMANA, LOOKING NORTH - Amana Colonies, State …
By decade

West Amana, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
B. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 WEST AMANA, LOOKING NORTH - Amana Colonies, State Routes 223 and 149 and U.S. Ro…1977B. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 WEST AMANA, LO…
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey C.C. Woodburn, Photographer. March 22, 1934 VIEW FROM NORTHEAST - West Amana Flour M…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey C.C. Woodburn, Pho…WEST AMANA, RESIDENCE, SOUTH SIDE AND EAST FRONT (Built 1862 and 1872) - Amana Colonies, State Routes 223 and 149 and U…Date?WEST AMANA, RESIDENCE, SOUTH SIDE AND EAST FRONT (Bui…
Today3 recent
Old Shops2025Old ShopsMMM Art Gallery2025MMM Art GalleryWhimsical farm implements and metal horse2016Whimsical farm implements and metal horse
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

B. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 WEST AMANA, LOOKING NORTH - Amana Colonies, State Routes 223 and 149 and U.S. Ro…
Retake this viewB. Thall, Photographer September, 1977 WEST AMANA, LOOKING NORTH - Amana Colonies, State Routes 223 and 149 and U.S. Ro…, 1977

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Amana’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to West Amana

Nobody well known was born in West Amana itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Elijah WoodAmerican actor · b. 1981
Ashton KutcherAmerican actor · b. 1978
Carl Van VechtenAmerican writer and photographer · b. 1880
Michael EmersonAmerican actor · b. 1954
R
Ron LivingstonAmerican actor · b. 1967
Bobby DriscollAmerican actor · b. 1937

Questions about West Amana’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.