10 Views From Kentucky Amish Communities

Here are some of the things I saw yesterday visiting Amish communities in Kentucky. I made it to four different settlements, stopped in a couple of stores, and met some nice people. Kentucky is increasingly loaded with Amish settlements (around 50 of them) and it seems like wherever you are, you’re a stone’s throw from some sort of  Amish community.


My first stop yesterday. They were selling firewood. This is one of the plainer Amish groups (Troyer Amish). Very nice folks, I spoke for a while with the father and son.

Their hefty but extra-friendly German Shepherd, Trooper.

The sign that caught my eye.

Looks like somebody put some “artwork” on this nearby buggy sign.

Laundry day.

A dog and his sheep.

Is this a barn-raising, temporarily paused? No one was around.

This device helps spread the heat from the stove around the shop. This is from inside Miller’s Discount Grocery in the Hillsboro, KY community. The metal heats up causing the fan to spin and blow the air out, distributing it. I saw one of these in a bent-n-dent in Colorado last week as well.

Bulk Food sign with a phone shanty beneath it. Unfortunately this place was closed by the time I arrived.

The sun sets at the end of the shortest day of the year, but a beautiful one in this corner of the Bluegrass State. Not sure whose truck that is.

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    3 Comments

    1. BH

      Sonora, KY

      We visited Kentucky & Indiana this fall and enjoyed seeing several Amish homes and schools in Sonora, KY. It was a totally unexpected and joyful surprise as our trip had a totally different purpose and I had no idea Amish lived in the area. After seeing our first ever buggy warning sign, I was so nervous I would come up too fast on a buggy on those curvy country roads! We spotted the telltale plainclothes clothesline, an Amish man driving a cart of church pews, and a buggy trotting down a farm lane.

      On a subsequent visit, it was a school day and we saw two different schools with kids at recess, as well as a father with two tiny toddlers at the lumber yard.

      I had the biggest grin on my face as I taught my kids what I have learned about the Amish from this site. We all enjoyed encountering a different culture. Seeing real people living (and thriving) in such a radically different manner from mainstream America made me thankful for our American heritage of religious freedom. May they continue to practice their beliefs in peace!

      1. Neat – I think Kentucky has just become one of those states where you can be driving and pass through a random Amish community, now that they are up to around 50 communities. I loved reading that you shared with the kids some of the info from here, happy to hear that and that you found that community. And I think I was actually in the same community about 10 years ago – did this photo post on it: https://amishamerica.com/hardin-county-kentucky-amish-photos/

    2. Jim Dawson

      Location of first pic

      Where was the first picture taken? What is the location of that Troyer Amish settlement?