Minnesota’s Amish population has grown steadily over the past four decades
Minnesota’s 14 Amish settlements are clustered in two regions: the extreme southeast near the Iowa border, and the central-northwest. Amish first settled in Minnesota in the late 1800s, forming two short-lived communities. Today, Minnesota’s Amish population numbers more than 3,000 (see Young Center 2010).
Minnesota Amish communities:
- Harmony-The Harmony/Canton area of Fillmore County is home to Minnesota’s largest Amish settlement, with 7 church districts and approximately 1,000 people. A second Fillmore County settlement is found at Granger
- Todd County-5 separate Amish settlements are found in Todd County in central Minnesota
- Other MN Amish communities-Wadena, the oldest Minnesota Amish community, was founded in 1972. Other settlements can be found in Clearwater County, Becker County, and Polk County.
Harmony, MN Amish
The Harmony Amish community was founded by Swartzentruber Amish from Wayne County, Ohio, who began settling in this corner of Fillmore County in 1974. Like other Swartzentruber Amish, this conservative group uses only limited technology in their homes, businesses, and buggies.
The Amish of Harmony make a living by farming, working construction jobs, and like Swartzentruber counterparts in the Ethridge, Tennessee Amish settlement, various communities Ohio, and numerous other states, by operating low-tech businesses. Basket, furniture, and quilt-making are popular here (read more here on Amish furniture in Minnesota). Jams, rugs, quilts, baked goods, and cashew crunch are among the items available for sale at local Amish homes.
The Harmony Amish community is by far the largest in Minnesota, at 7 church districts, and currently the third-oldest settlement in the state.
As in other sizeable settlements, a small tourism industry has developed here. In addition to the businesses the Amish themselves run, visitors to the area are catered to by tour companies which visit Amish farms and merchants and provide information on the community and Amish way of life.
Another Fillmore County settlement is found not far from Harmony, at Granger in the southern end of the county. Granger’s southern border is formed by the Minnesota-Iowa state line; its “twin village” of Florenceville, Iowa lying just across the line.
The Amish settlement here actually spills over the state line, with families living on the Iowa side of the border. At 3 church districts, the Granger settlement is the 2nd-largest in the state.
Todd County
It’s not unusual to find one area being home to a large number of separate Amish groups. Amish belonging to different affiliations–either more conservative or more liberal–are nonetheless attracted to settle in areas where other Amish already live.
They may be attracted to a given locale for similar reasons–low land prices, or absence of tourism, for instance. Amish moving to an area where Amish already live know that locals are likely to be used to the presence of Amish. Close contact with other Amish groups, even those more progressive or conservative, can help ease the move to a new area, with new arrivals benefiting from advice or by patronizing established businesses, such as buggy makers or plain clothing retailers.
Examples of areas where multiple groups have settled include the Amish communities of Clark County, Wisconsin, and the heavily-Amish Mohawk Valley in New York. Todd County in central Minnesota is another such place, today home to five separate settlements.
The first Amish arrived in Todd County in 1973, settling near the village of Bertha. In 1995, another settlement was established at Long Prairie, with a further two communities arising in the early 2000s, at Clarissa/ Browerville, and another near Bertha. Amish have continued to arrive in Todd County, with a settlement recently established at Eagle Bend (see Amish Settlements Across America: 2008, David Luthy).
In 2005, a rare polio outbreak occurred among Amish at the Long Prarie settlement, bringing attention to the reluctance of some Amish to undergo vaccination.
Other MN Amish communities
In addition to the above, a number of other settlements exist in the North Star State. The oldest Minnesota Amish community, near Wadena in Wadena County, was founded in 1972, and numbers 2 church districts today.
Polk County is home to a pair of settlements, at Fosston and Fertile, both established in 2007. Other Amish communities can be found in Becker, Clearwater, and Winona Counties.
Historical Minnesota settlements
A pair of Amish settlements existed in Minnesota around the turn of the century. These two communities were both located in the southwestern corner of the state, in Nobles and Jackson Counties. The first settlement was established near Wilmont in Nobles County, by settlers from Waterloo County in Ontario. Settlers bore surnames less-common in Amish society today, including Jantzi, Gascho, Kennel, Kropf, Iutzi, and Gerber. Some of these names are still seen in Canadian Amish communities, however.
Amish settlers did carpentry work and raised crops including corn, wheat, oats, barley, hay, and potatoes. Eventually, this settlement failed, as Amish historian David Luthy explains, due to a mixture of affiliations within the group. The Wilmont community, according to Luthy, “was traditional enough to fellowship with some Old Order Amish but had historic and family connections with the meetinghouse groups in Ontario and received an occasional visiting minister from there.” (Settlements that Failed, Luthy p. 213). The “dual nature” of this community–Old Order Amish, and Amish-Mennonite–led to its eventual total disbandment in 1910.
A second Amish community followed shortly after the Wilmont community was founded. A land agent succeeded in attracting Amish settlers, mainly from the Arthur, Illinois Amish settlement, to Jackson County in 1894. Amish in this area primarily farmed wheat, which they were able to transport to market thanks to Jackson County’s good train connections. Fishing in the county’s lakes, sometimes with pitchforks, and sometimes by simply cutting out fish caught in the thick winter ice, was a popular way of supplementing food.
Another popular pastime, Luthy notes, was exagerrating the severity of the Minnesota winters in the Sugarcreek Budget. As one writer put it: “I can’t give a record as to how cold it is outdoors, as it was so cold that the thermometers flew all to pieces, except one man was lucky enough to have his thermometer in the house hanging behind the stove in the sitting room, and he said it was 48 below zero.” This community eventually went extinct for unknown reasons, with the last family moving away seven years after it was founded, in 1901 (see The Amish in America: Settlements that Failed 1840-1960, David Luthy, pp.210-218)
Minnesota Amish continue robust growth
Like most other Amish settlements in the upper Midwest, the Minnesota Amish communities are remote from large population centers. This distance, and the correspondingly cheaper farmland, has continued to steadily attract Amish settlers over the past few decades.
The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies reports that Minnesota Amish population growth has been robust, with an increase of 178% over the past 20 years. With the large amount of sparsely-populated land available, Amish growth in the state is likely to continue at an above-average pace.
For further information, see:
The Amish in America: Settlements that Failed, 1840-1960, David Luthy
Amish Settlements Across America: 2008, David Luthy
The New American Almanac 2010, Raber’s Bookstore (Baltic, Ohio), Ben J. Raber
“Amish Population by State (2010)”; “Amish Population Change 1991‐2010”; Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College(http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_by_State_2010.asp; http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/PDF/Statistics/Population_Change_1991_2010.pdf)
Photo credits: buggy crossroads-Jenni Ripley; hay stacks-Ellen MacDonald; Amish buggies-Jenni Ripley; Amish home-Alan Levine; Amish market-Matt Zaske; buggy in snow-Ellen MacDonald
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48 responses to Minnesota Amish
Very interesting information! Love the pictures!! Got a kick out of the one where they were both trying to make the turn at the same time. Good thing there were no cars there!!!
Gardening must be difficult in Minnesota with the weather and short growing season. I wonder do any Amish have greenhouses to extend their growing season? Naturally, cooler weather crops like beets, broccoli, cabbage and the like would grow well there but not sure how tomatoes and other warmer weather loving produce would grwo without some help.
Blessings, Alice
Minnesota Amish
yes
i recently noticed an Amish family near Wadena has built a quite sizable greenhouse of their own. And with the size of their summer garden, i am sure it will be put to use!
The Lord gives Knowledge.
I am also a Believer as you are. In a couple of weeks from now, I and my wife are moving back to mn.. I have been in washington now for 35 years, and I am excided to get back. I would really like to visit a amish community, and mybe talk to an elder. I have no problem with there life style, I acturaly see it as being scriptural. I” am also interested in purchasing some furniture from the amish.
Alice,
Interesting question about whether any Amish have greenhouses, because I use to wonder the same thing. Eventually I visited a community Pa. where several greenhouses were evident.
Coincidently, I called on Tuesday morning to check on the Amish down in Bee County, TX as I had been watching Doppler radar Sunday morning in the pre-dawn hours and knew that a strong front had passed directly over where they live. Mr. Borntrager told me that they had received 1&1/2 inches of rain, which is very important as the whole lower 2/3 of the state has been in a drought for nearly 6 months (really about 7 years it has been extremely dry). It is also important to them,because they are so far south that they will be planting some field crops within a few weeks to a month and need the soil moisture. When I told him that I was happy for them for the rain he said “Well, it was good. Unfortunately one of “the boys” (his sons) lost his barn and three of his greenhouses to a tornado”. He said no one was injured and nobody lost their home, so he was thankful.
Minnesota Amish
Hi OldKat,
Weather certainly plays an important roll for anyone who gardens or farms. Thanks for answering my question about greenhouses. I am hoping to get a small greenhouse myself later this year.
For now, I start my seeds under lights in the basement for my garden. But a greenhouse would be wonderful. I could really extend my growing season. And that would be a blessing, as I do not have a really big area for a garden.
Thanking the good Lord no one was hurt during the tornado!!
Blessings, Alice
Minnesota Amish
Alice, greetings from Michigan! There is an old-order business north-east of Mount Hope, Ohio, that is a nursery/gardening business and it has one large greenhouse attached to it. There is another nursery/gardening business over on Rt.201 that has several greenhouses. Holmes county has many greenhouses all over it and many of them are owned/operated by the Amish.
Greetings Mary!!
Thank you for your reply. Sounds like Amish owning greenhouses is not uncommon at all. As I am constantly thinking about and preparing the upcoming gardening season I have wondered about such things. I am in Illinois and we have a pretty good growing season here but I can not imagine what the growing season in Minnesota or even up in the Dakotas would be like.
I would imagine greenhouses would be essential to extend the growing season to produce enough food to last a year. On my little lot I would never be able to produce that much to begin with so I tend to concentrate on the types of things that are either really expensive in the stores, or hard to find in this area. And of course, fresh tomatoes off the vine are a must.
Blessings, Alice
Minnesota Amish
I am originally from Minnesota and have visited
the Harmony and Granger settlements many times and
have started visiting the Utica/St. Charles settlement when I go to Minn. each spring and fall.
According to the Utica scribe’s letter in the
Jan. 5 Budget newspaper, the Utica/St. Charles
settlement in Winona County now has 3 districts
and 54 families. In 2009 they began a produce
auction which seems to be very successful. They also had two HUGE consignment auction sales in spring and late summer of 2010 which drew hundreds of people. I hope you can visit those settlements
sometime. The scenery is beautiful and is part of
what is called “Bluff Country” in southeastern
Minnesota.
Minnesota Amish
Just wondering, do you know of an Amish Auction being held May 21,22nd of this year? In St. Charles? Any information on this would be appreciated. Thank you so much?
Sincerely,
Denise
Spring Auction May 21
Saturday, May 21 – Starting at 9:00 a.m. – NEW LOCATION***St. Charles Amish Consignment Auction, 13473 County Rd. 35, St. Charles, MN – Driving & Riding Horses; draft horses; ponies; carriages; tack; horse related machinery; quilts; wallhangers; new furniture; woodcrafts, etc……Directions: From St. Charles, MN take Hwy. 74 south approx. 1 mile to Cty. Rd. 35; go east on Cty. Rd. 35 to T, take right at T and go 1/4 mile. Auction on right side. Watch for arrows. Pancake breakfast 7:00 a.m. to sale time – lunch & bake sale
Minnesota Amish
amish food store
HI my parents live down by Harmony MN and an amish family has a grocery store for everyone with grocery store items that the boxes are bent or maybe a little outdated, but these groceries are sold super cheap. I heard there is another store like this near St Charles, which is much closer to me than Harmony. Does any one have any information on this, also looking for an amish nusery around st charles. Thanks.
Minnesota Amish
amish food store
Katie,
I don’t know of a store like that near St Charles but I can point you to some nurseries. On County Rd 35 just south of the new auction barn there is a nursery open to the public. Also about another mile south of there on Keller Drive there are a couple of nurseries. They are not open on Sundays.
I was at the St. Charles Amish Produce Auction on May 31 and
asked a couple of Amish people about the salvage store. I learned
that it is scheduled to open the end of August.
would be nice..
would love to spend a month with one family and find out out how they live and ect. very interesting folks…
Just Looking !,
Just Looking Where Amish Live ,Maybe Move There Some Day , Looking For Cheap Apartments !, Positive Thanks !,Spirial Jesus Lover !,
Just Looking !.
Spirital Up Free Christian !, X Amish , About 10 Yr.’s Ago !,If Any Questions About The Amish My BackGrond , I’ll Try And Answere As Best I Can , When I Get To The Libary !,Positive Lovely Giving Jesus !,
Interesting
Could you explain why you left the amish community? Was it because of there life style?, or there belief in the lord Jesus?
Does any Minnesota Amish sale Peaches? I usually travel to Southern Iowa to buy them, but wanted to see if they have peaches in Minnesota?
Peaches for Becky
At least I got to buy peach jam at one of the Amish shops in Harmony last July. Excellent taste!
Amish Community near the Twin Cities
Does anyone know if there are any Amish Communities closer to the Twin Cities than Browerville? I am looking for a community that has vegetable/fruit auctions. Does anyone know if Browerville has a vegetable auction such as St. Charles?
Amish communities near Twin Cities
There is a new small but growing Amish community in the Mora area (approximately 1 1/2 hour north of Mpls/St.Paul). Sorry this reply is 5 months late but I just came across your post.. So far they are only selling baked goods at “Made in Mora” on Saturdays, but they seem to be interested in the local Farmer’s Market.
Amish near & around Mora
Jackie,do you know how big the Amish community is in or near Mora? Do you know off which roads they live? Have you purchased any goods from any of the Amish personally? From their homes?
This is the info I was able to find from the local Mora newspaper about the new Amish district:
http://www.presspubs.com/article_668cead4-5fb1-5360-af92-897d721b52a4.html
They live on Plum St. 3 families on the same parcel.
Amish Community near Twin Cities
Julie,
The closest one that I can think of for Amish is in Long Prairie, MN which is on Hwy 71 near St. Cloud.
I was doing research on the Mennonite communities and there is one near Gibbon which is SW of the Cities.
I know the ones in Long Prairie have a stand just outside of town and make wonderful jam.
yes
The Amish near Long Praire make wonderful goods.
Their pies are absolutely fabulous! Our oldest boy just brought one home on Saturday…a black raspberry! drool! They also have goods to sell on their porches in the summer, hand made items and garden….and one place has baskets, furniture….
I am very interested in knowing if anybody knows how to contact the Amish to see if they would be interested in training my horse to drive. I heard they are exceptional
Northwest Minnesota Amish
I will be moving to Fosston, Minnesota in the spring and I would like to know more about the Amish communities in the Fosston and Fertile areas. Also, are there many Mennonite churches in these areas?
I am also interested in the Amish in this area but have not been able to find any info other than the harrassment and barn burning that they endured. May a road trip is in order for both of us!
Amish store near harmony
Looking for an Amish straw hat, hand pumps for wells, and other numerous items as I work towards making my 10 acres self sufficient .
There is a wonderful “Farmer’s Market” stand right down town Osakis, which is near Alexandria. They are very friendly and welcoming. The Osakis website also lists the Amish business owners and even includes a map. A few of them have card tables with their products on them at the end of their driveways with an honor system to pay. Others, have their items right in their homes and will welcome you in.
Long Prairie: http://www.longprairie.org/tourism/amish_business.html
Osakis: http://lakeosakismn.com/amish-shopping-map.html
So excited to learn about the new Amish settlement near Mora. I hope their community welcomes them.
Minnesota Amish
Just took an Amish backroads tour near Mora. I got completely lost but was able to follow the horse poop! There are currently 6 families living SE of Mora. They came from WI, MO, and Ontario. Several of them put up machine sheds and are living in half of the building. When I entered the store, the women greeted me immediately and introduced herself as Miriam. She also introduced several of the men to me, one of which talked to me for about 30 minutes. She was helping her sister clean the house for preaching services the following day. The men were unloading the benches. I asked how they located the farm and he said they had hired a scout and then hired a semi truck driver to move them. They both said that the community has been very welcoming and said that for two weeks straight people were stopping in to welcome them. I’m looking forward to returning later this spring.
Minnesota Amish
Erin, did you notice if they are growing garden plants to sell? Or, if they mentioned any of their friends that will be selling plants or seeds? In my experiences of visiting many Amish (in many different states), all I need to do is ask a question pertaining to something I’m looking to buy from them and they will network me with a family member or friend. The families you visited with, are they between Mora and Pine City?
Minnesota Amish
Yes, they live in Comfort Township outside of Mora. They are growing vegetables this coming spring and are doing a CSA for 25 weeks. They also have farm fresh brown eggs, chickens, and pasture raised turkey. You can write to:
Comfort Community Foods
Menno L. Lambright
1718 Plum Street
Mora, MN 55051
Erin,is Comfort Community Foods directly to Mr. Lambright? Is Mr.Lambright an Amish gentleman or is he an Englishman to contact to get through to Mr. Lambright? Thank you for the information! Julie
Mr. Lambright is an Old Order Amishman. He and the 5 other families are growing a community garden.
We recently went on a trip to the fillmore county area. We spent $80 on a tour for our family of seven. The guide was very informative and knew all the amish personally. They ask her to bring people by their stores. Some were very inviting and some kept their distance. I noticed that the men were more willing to talk to the men rather than me. I have always been intrested in their life style and appriciate what they can do with so little. It was the first time someone said oh you only have five children. It was really cool to see these pictures as i didn’t want to intrude on them and take pictures at their homes or of them hard at work. I did go to the house that is pictured above and they were the nicest family. We bought soaps pot holders and some stuff for the kids there. We also bought fresh eggs and my husband was invited into their home. The husband builds amazing furnature and we got to peek in side his shop. The mother was cooking in the kitchen and had many obitant children. They also had three jars of farm freash milk sitting on their back porch. I learned so much about them and thier lifestyle by just being there it is only about an hour and a half drive from the twin cities. We will defanitly will be going back again.
Minnesota Amish
Barn Restoration
I have read in a local newspaper that a crew of Amish worked on a building at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in Britt IA. I am wondering how to contact this crew. I have a family barn that is over 100 years old and I need help in restoring it. If anyone knows of an Amish crew that works on barns, please contact me. Thank you.
Prairie Woman
I am looking for a good source of bulk flour, and am hoping the Amish community may make and sell flour in Polk County, Minnesota. I am willing to travel there, it wouldn’t be far from where I live. How can a person find how to contact them?
I have not visited any of the Amish near Fertile, MN. I recently met the new Amish settlement near Mora and I was able to locate them by going to the County Assessors website and typing in their last name (it had been printed in the newspaper). I felt kind of funny doing it that way but it is public info. If you don’t have a last name, I would suggest searching for common last names such as: Stutzman, Gingerich, Zook, Schwartzentruber, Bontrager, Borntreger, Miller. My husband and I were also to locate Amish while traveling in WI by using his GPS. It found an Amish school. Gotta love technology! Good luck on your search.
Minnesota Amish
Bulk Flour
I live in Polk County. I just moved here from Utah a few weeks ago. I have not encountered the Amish since I have been here but there is a Farmers Market that they participate in. I would recomend that you ‘Like’ the Facebook page “Fosston Farmers Market”.
Someone there will be able to give you the information you need.
Auction?
I was told there is an auction on April 28th, 2012. Does anyone know how to get to it or what time?
Do you know where the auction is?
From an ad in THE BUDGET newspaper:
Country Consignment Auction, new location (13473 County Road 35, St. Charles, MN). 9 a.m. sharp. Pancake breakfast 7-9 a.m., Lunch, Bake Sale.
This is a 2-Day Sale. April 28 and May 26, 2012.
Day 1, April 28: Horses, ponies, carriages, tack, farm machinery, cattle, small animals and chickens. Antiques and Small items.
Day 2, May 26: Quilts, Wallhangers, New furniture, Woodcrafts, Antiques, Small items
Questions for consignments contact Bill Gathje at 507-458-8560.
Minnesota Amish
Not sure what the auction is but I meet Mr. Lambright and he is a very nice man.
Stephanie, is Mr. Lambright able to train your horse? IF not, was he able to give you a name of someone that can?
yes Erin he thought he and his son Samual would be able to do that for me. I will be going back to see him soon to set something up. I am so greatful for this site. He was such a nice man. I can not tell you how excited I am to get my horse trained.
Horse Training
Hi I am looking for a trainer for my horses ..
how do i get in contact with an Amish horse trainer I live in Northern Minnesota
Thanks Jennifer
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