Small towns in the Prairie State Erik Jansson led a group of Swedes to Bishop Hill with the intention to create an ideal society. The town is home to galleries, shops, restaurants, and inhabited by artists and craftspeople. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s. In June it hosts the Midsummer Music Festival. Carl Sandburg, a Chicago poet who greatly benefited the…

Small towns in the Crossroads of America State The town of New Harmony has a history of utopian societies establishing it. The Harmonists, a group of German religious separatists who aspired to communal perfection, were the first group. They sold the land to entrepreneur Robert Owne, who himself sought to establish an early socialist utopia based on the principles of equality and education. The…

Winslow Homer

Below Zero, 1894. Oil on canvas, 60.5 × 71 cm. Yale University Art Gallery.

Small towns in the Hawkeye State Amana, also known as Main Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead, are the seven settlements that comprise the Amana Colonies. There are roughly 1,200 people living in the communities. The little German communities of the Amana Colonies are well-known for their handcrafted goods, artwork, and food. Visit the Woolen…