WEST End: Stop sign, US 6 and W16, South Amana, Iowa County
Facing south
Two blocks before its south end (in the background), 220 makes a sharp set of turns. The turns are so sharp that the LGS for the road runs parallel to it! As evidenced by the yellow lines in the bottom of the picture (which was taken off the road in a parking lot), when cars pass the LGS they are heading east yet the LGS is for traffic heading south.
Closeup of LGS
This isn't a DOT sign (strange, given that 220's been around quite a while), and the ahead-and-left arrow for Homestead while not doing the same for Marengo makes it even stranger.
Facing south, but heading west, on 220
RAGBRAI came through West and South Amana in 2008.
Facing south, but heading west, on 220
Facing east on 6
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 6
Facing west on 6
Facing west on 6
Facing north on W16
Pavement goes for about 3/4 mile south of this intersection, to Upper South Amana (which, seemingly contrary to logic, is south of South Amana proper), which is not marked on either state or county maps. The strange part of this intersection is that up to 1976, South Amana was depicted as being south of US 6, not migrating to the north of the intersection until 1977. The 1972 map, for example, clearly shows 6 bisecting 220 with South Amana being a mile (mile-ish) south of the intersection. This LGS, not from the state but following state guidelines, makes one wonder just who moved South Amana...
Facing north on W16
...or who moved US 6 (these signs were replaced between 2004 and 2008!). By the way, only the county map marks this road as W16.
EAST End: 4-way stop, US 151 and F20, Amana, Iowa County
Facing east on 220
Photo by Jason Hancock
From this point, the end of the road is not able to be seen. It curves around to the left side of this photo, following the tree line.
Facing east on 220 (LGS at bottom left is in right picture)
The city limits sign shows up right before the LGS, yet the latter still includes the town.
Facing east on 220
The bulk of main Amana is straight ahead. While some like to poke fun at Iowa's ethnic enclaves and festivals (see, for example, the 1998 movie I'll Be Home for Christmas), Iowans take pride in remembering their heritage, in this case Germans. The Amana Colonies were a communal society set up by followers of a German religious sect.
Facing west on F20
The small stretch of 220 east of 151 connecting Amana and East Amana (including the road here) was demoted in 1980. Who snuck that capital "A" in the bottom entry? Middle Amana, though unincorporated, is the site of both the Amana appliance manufacturing plant (now a part of Maytag) and Clear Creek-Amana Middle School.
Facing north on 151
Facing north on 151
Facing south on 151
Homestead is 151's last town before the US route ends at I-80. The town of Homestead was originally purchased by the Amana Society (the colonies' governing body in the 19th century) to serve as a railroad station for the colonies - hence why it doesn't have "Amana" in the name. Today, the "Little Amana" collection of businesses 14 miles south of here at I-80 exit 225 acts much the way Homestead did in introducing travelers to the Amanas. (However, until 1985, going from that exit to the Amanas required traveling a gravel road!!)
Facing south on 151
If you follow that Iowa Scenic Byway, it makes a loop around the Amana Colonies and F15 east of Marengo and then continues on US 6, IA 212, and IA 21 in Iowa and Benton counties and E66, a tiny piece of the original Lincoln Highway, V18, E64, US 63, E49, and T47 in Tama County, ending at US 30 north of Montour.
Surrounding area information: East Amana/220's old east end
Facing southwest, but heading west, on 220
This "Iowa County" marker is a mystery. Yes, until 1980, this was where 220 began, and the pavement ends a few hundred feet behind this picture. However, this is a mile inside the county line, and the gravel F20 follows the Iowa River east to Old US 218 - not exactly a major thoroughfare. The east side of main Amana is in the right background.
Pictures by Jason Hancock: Sixth and twelfth, December 2001
Pictures by me: First, seventh, 13th-22nd, 4/9/04; second-fifth and eleventh, 7/24/08; eighth-tenth, 4/10/04
Page created 12/11/01; last updated 9/24/08
