Somewhat confusingly, the words “Nebraska Amish” often refer to the “white-topper” group of Pennsylvania and Ohio which bears that name–legacy of an associated bishop and early church members from the Cornhusker State. Less is heard about the small population of Amish who actually live in Nebraska. Amish America contributor Tom Geist today shares his visits to the handful of communities in the state. Verdigre #1 The…
There has been some discussion over whether an Amish community exists at Verdigre in Nebraska.  Here’s what I wrote a year ago in the Nebraska Amish state guide: The Verdigre area (Knox County) was home to another Amish settlement founded by Amish from Michigan in 2003.  The pioneer couple, Eddie and Mattie Petersheim, were profiled in a newspaper article shortly after arriving in Nebraska.  The Petersheims sought…
An AP story has just hit the wire on population growth among the Amish. This coincides with the release of additional information on trends in Amish growth and migration from here at the Young Center. The Amish studies site now lists trend data for the 1992 to 2008 period as well as the 2007 to 2008 one-year trend. The most surprising statistic: according to the…