This building is made of brick constructed over a wooden beam frame. It was built in 1868 and is still standing. It is currently a private residence.
This building's communal use was twofold. It was often a wohnhaus, or residence, and served as a shoemaker's shop pre-1900. This house, since it was near the west end of town near the farm buildings, often housed people working for the farms. Most often this building held local farm help. The reason that I stress the local is that the Amanas often hired in some of its farm help. These people were accepted into the community on a limited scale. They were granted housing and meals, but were not allowed to attend church.
The shoemaker living in this house was named August Zimmerman. There may have been others (and probably were), but this is one of the last ones. The shoemaker did more than just make footwear. He often repaired other smaller leather items. The harness maker also did this. I was unable to ascertain if one person did both jobs. My oma (grandmother) used to tell me a favorite story about the shoemaker. When she was very young, she was required to knit, crochet, and embroider just like all other young boys and girls. Her father was having a birthday (or was it Christmas?) and she wanted something special for him. She did some fine needle work and decided to have it made into some house slippers for her father. She took the work to the shoemaker and asked to have it done. It was agreed and completed in time. Needless to say her father loved the gift.
The shoemaker's job was one of the first in South to become obsolete. Once the store started to receive shoes produced outside of the community, the need for shoe production decreased. It became cheaper to buy new shoes than to have them made. One could say that the store was a gateway to the outside world. It ended up making a lot of things obsolete.
The picture below is of the shoemaker shop (smaller addition to the left) and the residence. Picture courtesy of the Amana Heritage Society.