Amber, Iowa


Amber is an unincorporated community in Jones County, Iowa, United States. It is located northeast of Anamosa, northwest of Center Junction, south of Monticello and north of Olin. Amber is located approximately in the center of Jones County.

History

What would become Amber started with the Midland railroad depot of the Chicago & North-Western Railway. The founders of Amber were the Hartmans, the Sanfords and J.C. Ramsey. Mrs. C.E. Sanford & son opened a general store and J.C. Ramsey was the agent for the Midland depot. The post office was established in 1873 with T. Hartman being the first postmaster, he was also a trustee for Wayne Township. Originally called Blue Cut, due to a wide strip of blue clay nearby, the name was changed to Amber on July 1, 1878. Amber was named after a character in a novel that a resident had read.

Hula Hoop Tree

Amber was the home of the Hula Hoop Tree from 2015 until the tree was cut down in 2020. The lifeless tree was decorated with hundreds of plastic hula hoops before it was felled. The tree had its own Facebook page.