So I couldn’t resist commenting on this one. You may have come across slideshow-style “listicle” posts on mass media sites like MSN or AOL. I’ve been seeing a lot of them lately about the Amish (sometimes they link to this website as a source, so no complaints there). Things like “10 surprising technologies the Amish use” or “The 15 largest Amish communities”. Often enough, the…
The matter at hand is a major road overpass project in Seymour, Missouri – meant to help improve safety in the state’s largest Amish settlement. It’s intended to go up in a part of the community where they are “genuinely scared” to drive their buggies, according to the former mayor. We first came across this story back in January, when we learned the Amish were…
A proposed ordinance in Bedford County, Pennsylvania would force local Amish to adapt their buggies to be more “road-friendly”, at least from the perspective of some residents. At the same time, others are concerned it could “disproportionately impact” the Amish community. From the report at WJAC: BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — A proposed ordinance in Bedford Township is drawing scrutiny ahead of a vote scheduled…
Very sad breaking news out of Sauk County, Wisconsin. A 13-year-old Amish girl lost her life while driving a buggy Wednesday morning, after it was struck by a Ford F350 hauling a trailer. From the report at WKOW: VILLAGE OF IRONTON, Wis. (WKOW) — A 13-year-old Amish girl died after a truck pulling a trailer struck her horse and buggy from behind on Highway 58….
Nora Kurtz is a member of a Geauga County, Ohio Amish church. Today she shares some favorite dishes from her childhood – and some she still loves today, including bread soup and more. Anyone who lives in or around a large Amish community is probably going to be at least somewhat familiar with “Amish food”. Fried chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed vegetables, pies and puddings…
Missouri is home to America’s seventh-largest Amish population. Over 18,000 Amish live in more than 60 settlements across the state. These ten communities are the largest in Missouri, based on the most current Amish population estimates. Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom). 1. Seymour Seymour (Webster County) Community founded: 1968 Total Amish population: 4,325…
A newly-released book collects 123 fraktur pieces and needlework family records from Amish families in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, spanning the 1800s. It’s the result of nearly three decades of collecting by the late Jack Parmer, with genealogical research and text by Elam Stoltzfus — who joins us today to share more on it. Here’s how publisher Masthof Press describes the book: Amish Family Records of…
After last week’s animal cruelty case, I really wasn’t looking to write more on Amish-owned dogs coming to harm. But here we are. Today we see a report on an Amish dog breeder named John S. Stoltzfus Jr. The Lancaster County resident got himself into trouble after it was learned that, in late 2023, he had killed four Sheepadoodle puppies which weren’t selling. From the…
Horse Progress Days 2026 happened last weekend in the Arthur, Illinois community. Like he did last year, Budget Newspaper publisher Milo Miller shares a great batch of photos he took while at the event. For those unfamiliar, Horse Progress Days is the marquee event for horse-drawn farming equipment. It draws thousands of Amish attendees from across the country each year. It’s an event not only…
Jim Halverson is back with another look around the Cass City, Michigan Amish community. This photo set takes in a local Amish-attended garage sale, marked with balloons out front – along with a few other sights from around the settlement. We’ve previously seen how garage sales are popular with the Amish in northern Indiana. This one was being run out of a greenhouse: secondhand dresses…
That’s according to the latest Top 10 list just released by USA Today, which pegs several Amish Country/PA Dutch-style buffets as the best in the country. The top three, in fact, are all in that category. In order, they are: Shady Maple Smorgasbord (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) Der Dutchman (Sarasota, Florida) Miller’s Smorgasbord (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) And not only that, but a fourth Amish Country buffet…
The first thing you’ll notice about this Amish home is that it just keeps going. It’s one of the longest homes we’ve featured in this series. A low, stretched-out ranch style that’s half-home, and half-three-door garage. More on that garage in a minute – it’s doing more than just buggy storage. This one is in Madison County, Iowa, just outside Winterset. It’s a small Amish…
Reader Shawn has been visiting the Amish community at Pearisburg, Virginia for over a decade now. The first visit of Shawn’s we saw here was back in 2014, followed by a return in 2016 to check on the newly opened Walker Valley Market. I’ve made a couple of visits myself – one on a rainy February day in 2020, and another in December 2020 when…
Two people were airlifted for treatment after a Friday afternoon buggy crash in Iowa’s largest Amish community – on a road with a deadly history for Amish in the community. From the report at the Bloomfield Democrat: Davis County Deputy Sheriff James Johnson said Tuesday morning he did not yet have a complete official report on the Amish buggy/pickup truck accident that occurred on 180th…
Alcohol use is in the picture, yet again, in another Amish buggy crash. Fortunately, this one was not fatal, like others have been. The buggy crash victim is a 74-year-old Amish man from the Harmony, Minnesota community, the state’s largest. Here’s more on the Saturday crash from the Post Bulletin report: LANESBORO, Minn. — One person was injured after a vehicle and a horse-drawn buggy…
A 77-year-old Amish man from Palatine, New York remains in critical condition tonight after a car struck his buggy on a state highway in Montgomery County Thursday evening. The accident impact happened on a curve, while the buggy was towing a piece of farm equipment (more on that below). From CBS 6 Albany: Sheriff Jeffery T. Smith said the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch…
This is a strange and tragic case out of Missouri. This story does not directly involve the Amish, but nonetheless they play a particularly odd role in it. A father who told police his missing 2-year-old son had been dropped off at an Amish community in Mississippi has been arrested. This week, in a wooded area outside Belleville, Illinois, investigators found the remains of a…