This building was originally built as a school house. It served in this capacity for about 10 years. It is made of local brick and was built in 1869. In 1879 the "big school" was built, and the K-8 classes were moved there.
This building is very dear to me. It is where I grew up. It has a large lawn, productive garden, a shop, a chicken house, and wonderful trees on the acre of land that it sits on in town (sound like I'm trying to sell it, huh?). Like many Amana houses, it has a "Rabatt" or wooden wall around the foundation of the house. This was used to plant flowers and herbs. It also served to hold the grapevines that were attached to the trellises. Another characteristic of many Amana houses including this one are the sparrow boxes at the bottom corners of the roof. These were very common, but are becoming less so.
After the school moved, this house became a residence. There were typically four families living in this house during communal times. My great grandparents were among these families. When the change occured in 1932, Amana residents were given the option to buy their houses. Ours was purchased for the price of about $845.00. Most of this had to be worked off. The change was a very difficult thing for most families. This was due to the fact that they had had no money prior to the change. It is very difficult to move to a capitalist society from a communal one.
The building is still standing on its sandstone foundation, and is a private residence.