Amish History

This Is Amish Country? Five Surprising Historical Amish Settlements (Video)

This Is Amish Country? Five Surprising Historical Amish Settlements (Video)

When you think of “Amish Country“, odds are you don’t think of places like this: Or this: And certainly not this: But throughout their history, Amish have lived in places like the above. I find the stories behind these communities fascinating. Communities in such far-flung and unusual locations typically don’t last forever. But their prior existence proves that the Amish are both adventurous and adaptable….

Look Back In Time: A 1950s Film on the Amish (10 Observations)

Look Back In Time: A 1950s Film on the Amish (10 Observations)

What was Amish life like 65 years ago? Last week I came across a documentary called, simply, “The Old Order Amish”.  This was filmed in Lancaster County and was just recently uploaded to YouTube. It’s on the Periscope Films channel, a company that preserves rare and obscure old films. It’s a fascinating nugget from the past and I recommend watching (it’s viewable at the end…

Where does the “Dutch” in “Pennsylvania Dutch” REALLY come from?

Where does the “Dutch” in “Pennsylvania Dutch” REALLY come from?

Visit the larger tourist-friendly Amish communities, and you’ll find the label “Pennsylvania Dutch” or just “Dutch”, and variations of it, everywhere. Amish use the term as well, for instance in the names of their businesses, or in nicknames. But where does this term come from? When you hear “Dutch” in a vacuum, the Netherlands (or Holland) invariably come to mind. And some accounts mistakenly have…

The Ten Oldest Amish Communities

The Ten Oldest Amish Communities

Which are the oldest Amish settlements? You can check out the list here or watch the short video below for the answer. Of these oldest communities: three of them were founded in the 1700s one of them is located outside of the US five of them were founded in one noteworthy seven-year stretch just one lies west of the Mississippi River I originally wrote about…

Inside An Abandoned Amish School

Inside An Abandoned Amish School

An Amish community was founded at Rector, Arkansas back in 2009. Though it managed to attract a number of families (including a minister), it never grew very large, and eventually went extinct about five years later. Despite their rapid growth and many new communities being founded yearly, this happens to some Amish settlements – for various reasons. Don Burke paid a visit to the Rector…

A Town In France Remembers Its Amish Past

A Town In France Remembers Its Amish Past

Amish no longer live in Europe, but how are they remembered there today? Romain Speisser shares one example from a hometown of Jakob Ammann. Amman lived in the area of Saint-Marie-aux-Mines (once known as Markirch) for years until Anabaptists were expelled from the region in 1712. Today, it hosts an annual event commemorating its Amish history, as Romain describes below. As every year since 1995,…

Where do the names “Amish” and “Mennonite” come from?

Where do the names “Amish” and “Mennonite” come from?

In this video I give the origins of the Anabaptist movement in brief, and describe how the Amish emerged from that movement at the end of the 17th century. I also explain who Jakob Ammann and Menno Simons were. Contrary to what some might suppose, the two never crossed paths, with Ammann arriving on the scene around 150 years after Simons. Menno Simons was a…

Amish Communities in Georgia?

Amish Communities in Georgia?

Georgia is one state which people often wonder about, when it comes to the Amish. Are there Amish in Georgia? Maybe it’s because it borders other states with Amish communities. The Amish are a constantly growing population – and Amish have been settling in the South in greater numbers over the past decade. However, Georgia currently has no Old Order Amish population (though it does…

Amish Replace Historic Barn That Burnt Down (14 Photos)

Amish Replace Historic Barn That Burnt Down (14 Photos)

This barn-raising story has some history attached. In Amish history, the name Joseph Johns is noteworthy, as he was the founder of present-day Johnstown, Pennsylvania. An Amish crew has rebuilt a barn which burned down on Johns’ former farm, and which had been built by his grandson Joseph Johns III. You might be wondering both about the surname here and the idea of an Amishman…

Amish History: “Heftler” Joseph Beller of Quelle

Romain Speisser, who gave us a look at the history of the Amish in Salm (Alsace, France), returns today with a historical look at the Heftler people – and in particular an Amishman named Joseph Beller, notable as being likely the last Amish person in his area. The name “Beiler” (seen often in Lancaster County) or its variant more common in the Midwest – “Byler”…