History

The Building

The history of the building now housing Lace Lodging dates back to 1855.

The property was plotted in 1855 and designated to be a prayer meeting hall. As was the custom in the ‘old country’ the prayer meeting hall was located in the very center of main Amana. The sandstone was quarried within the Amana villages, put on skids, and pulled by oxen to the building site. A unique feature of the sandstone structure is a vertical sundial located on the south wall.

In 1944 the building was sold and was used as a private residence. It next sold in 1985. During the following 12 years the sandstone building continued as a private residence and the wood structure housed “Olde World Lace Shoppe” and “Lehm’s Book Store”. In 1997 the building was again sold. At this time both businesses expanded so the building no longer had a residence within it. By 2003, “Lehm’s Book Store” had moved to a new location and the current owners continued to run “Olde World Lace Shoppe” as well as began a progression of remodeling parts of the structure to living suites. By May of 2012 the wooden and stone structures had been converted into 4 separate living suites and the lace business was sold out.