Eighty years, the Amana Colonies Colony maintained an almost completely self-sufficient local economy, importing very little from the industrializing American economy.
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Today, the Seven Villages of Amana Colonies are a tourist attraction known for its restaurants and craft shops.
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Amana Colonies would hire many outside laborers to do industrial and agricultural jobs.
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Amana Colonies would interact with the outside world in two ways, buying and selling.
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Just Middle Amana Colonies alone had more than 732 invoices from outside companies.
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Amana Colonies purchased anything deemed necessary to run the society efficiently, such as raw wool, oil, grease, starch, pipes and fittings.
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Amana Colonies Farms is home to Iowa's largest privately held forest.
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Amana Colonies started the Electric Equipment Company in 1934 using $3500 of his own savings.
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Amana Colonies was sold to the Amana Society in 1936 and renamed the Electrical Department of the Amana Society, though Foerstner remained as manager.
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Amana Colonies was twice awarded the Army-Navy "E" Award during World War II for filling military contracts.
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Two years later, the Amana Colonies Society sold off the Electrical Department to an investment group organized by Foerstner.
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Amana Colonies produced the first practical commercial microwave oven in 1967.
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Amana Colonies will continue to manufacture Amana Colonies, JennAir, KitchenAid, Maytag and Whirlpool refrigerators at the plant, built in 1940, under a long-term lease agreement.
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