Leischenring's Kitchen/ Small Church

This was another of the communal kitchens in South Amana. Only one of four building in South Amana not built of brick, this building was built on a wooden beam frame. The exterior was made from clapboard and this building has the distinction of being among the first buildings built in South around 1858. It was the first one used as a house.

This building also has the distinction of being built with lumber sent west from Ebenezer. At this point, I feel that it is relevant to give some background info about Ebenezer. The foundations of the Amanas (which is the religion; Amana Church of True Inspiration) began way back in Germany. A group of people following Martin Luther's lead, broke off from "traditional" church life. These people were "inspired" by god which led them to spread the word to others. Eventually, the werkzeuge (tools of God, which were those people that were leaders in the church and "inspired") were instructed to come to America. This they did around 1842, establishing six villages near present-day Buffalo, NY. This area was growing very rapidly. It soon became apparent that "worldly people" would soon overrun the closed communal society. One thing that I have observed throughout our history is that there was constant fear about the influence from the outside world. This was due to the fact that "worldly" possessions, people, and ideas would degrade the foundations of the church. These fears may have been realized in 1932. I digress..... Those leaders in Ebenezer, with Christian Metz being one of the most prominent, decided to move west where they could establish a community more removed from mainstream populace. The land of the present day Amana Colonies was purchased in 1854.

This kitchen was run by one of my relatives (as was the Berger kitchen). It had many of the same aspects that other kitchens in South had. It had a chickenhouse, garden, and was placed on a corner. One thing that made this kitchen unique was that it was in the basement. This is not typical for kitchens. The building also served as a small church. It was not the main church building for the entire village. Generally, it served people that were married and had grown children. This church held regular services including nacht gebet (night services), Wednesday morning services, and three services on Sunday.

This building is still standing, and is a private residence (actually two separate ones). One of the families that live there are decendants of the Leischenring boss for which the kitchen was named.