Located in Jones County in Eastern Iowa,
Anamosa was founded in 1838.
For more information please visit our
Anamosa History Page.
Whether you are new to our community,
visiting or have been here all your life,
Anamosa has numerous opportunities awaiting
you! We invite you to visit our museums,
including the
National Motorcycle
Museum,
or the
Anamosa State
Penitentiary Museum.
Stroll down historic Main Street and visit
the
Grant Wood Art Gallery
and shop Anamosa's gift and antique shops.
Sit down and relax at any one of our fine
restaurants or enjoy
Starlighters II
Theater
performances.
Make plans to visit us soon!
Contact the Anamosa Chamber office or
Jones County Tourism
for more information.
Destination Anamosa
"Anamosa has always held a very warm place
in my heart. When I was a youngster, we
lived on a farm three miles southeast of
town - a long enough distance in those days.
I remember the great excitement my brothers
and I felt when the family went into town on
Saturday to get supplies.
As we breasted the final
hill before coming into Anamosa, my older
brother always cried, with a perennial
enthusiasm of discovery: "I smell town".
This does not mean that Anamosa had noxious
odors from factories or anything like that.
It simply meant that my brother's excitement
was so intense, he actually smelled or
fancied he could smell the slight difference
in aroma between the country and town. To
us, Anamosa had all the glamour of New York,
Chicago and Paris rolled into one. The name,
Anamosa, still brings back some of this
youthful excitement to me.
Jones County is a region
of uncommon natural beauty and fine, sturdy
people. It has a rich and colorful history.
I am sure that every native of the county
is, as I am. proud to have been born there,
and cannot today go through the Anamosa and
Stone City country without having awakened
memories and affections that extend back
into earliest childhood."hood."
Sincerely, Grant Wood
