Members of the Community of True Inspiration, a Christian sect that originated in Germany in 1714, began settling the Amana Colonies in July 1855 after immigrating to the United States in 1842-1846 under the leadership of Christian Metz and first establishing a communal settlement near Buffalo, New York. Advocating simple worship, Bible study, and belief that God still communicated through inspired instruments called Werkzeuge, the Inspirationists adopted permanent communal living in 1846 after pooling resources to assist poorer members, buy land and equipment, and build villages. Seeking a home apart from worldly influences, they purchased what became a 26,000 acre tract in Iowa beginning in June 1855, sold their Ebenezer lands between 1855 and 1864, and relocated to the new site, naming it Amana, a term from Song of Solomon 4:8 meaning remain true. The group established seven villages, each centered on its own farm and equipped with a church, school, bakery, and blacksmith shop, while factories in Amana and Middle Amana produced calico fabric and woolens for outside sale. Members worked at assigned jobs and ate in communal kitchens until 1932, when the effects of the Great Depression, youth dissatisfaction, and inefficiencies in the communal system led the community to reorganize as a joint stock corporation. The new Amana Society continued managing farms and businesses, the Amana Church Society oversaw religious life, and the Amana Villages remained home to descendants of the original settlers as well as later arrivals, with weekly religious services continuing and many businesses still managed by the Amana Society while most residences and other businesses became privately owned.