Inside a 3,000-Square-Foot Amish Farmhouse on 38 Acres — With Just an Outhouse (29 Photos)

Here’s an interesting Amish property in Kentucky which stands out for several reasons.

This is a sprawling cattle and horse farm in Metcalfe County, Kentucky – home, since the early 1990s, to an Amish community now over 250 people in size.

The place is set on a hill and has some nice views of the surrounding countryside – and a charming interior with a look typical of more traditional Amish homes:

And keeping true to the ways of the most traditional Amish, there is no sewage system – only an outhouse:

Another kicker with this home is that despite it being a sizeable 3,000 square feet, it’s listed as having just two bedrooms.

That’s because the entire upstairs is unfinished, and consists of one large 30 by 40-foot space, as you can see here:

Here’s the property description – and then we’ll look inside the home, which has a couple of standout features – including one clever low-tech way of doing a household chore that I’ve never seen before (more below).

Home Description

The home description is broken down into sections, which I haven’t seen much before in these listings, but is a handy way to do it:

SUMMARY: Priced to sell quickly! This is a 38 acre working cattle/horse farm with fencing and cross-fencing, hot-wire, and an almost brand new 3,000 sq ft Amish-built two-story house with a beautiful wrap-around porch, and a nine-stall stock barn with hay loft. All of the 38 acres consist of pastures and hayfields.

PRICING: The sale price is below market by figuring the land at $5,300 per acre and then adding the actual cost of only the materials for the house, barn, and concrete of $200,000. This farm is definitely priced to sell quickly.

FARMHOUSE: The farmhouse, which is perched on the highest part of the farm, is barely two years old. It is a large, 3,000 sq ft Amish-built two story house with a 20′ x 30′ basement. The large wrap around porch provides scenic 270° views of the surrounding farms.

The main level consists of the large kitchen and wood cooking stove area, the large front room, the master bedroom, the guest bedroom, a bathroom, a pantry, and a small food preparation room. The flooring on all of the main floor has been covered with white oak tongue and groove hardwood flooring.

The upstairs is currently unfinished and consists of one large, open room, measuring 30′ x 40′. It is completely insulated with foam insulation.

LAND: The beautiful green, rolling pastures are completely fenced and cross-fenced. The 38 acres is comprised of the following tracts: 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8.

NATURAL WATER: A water district water provides water for the house and animals.

LOCATION: The location of this farm is on a quiet road, Hwy 1048, in a farming area between Crail Hope and Node. Hardly a mile away is located a great, less-traveled, east-west connector road (KY 218) which provides quick access to KY 68 (Edmonton-Greensburg Rd) to the east and KY 31E, and Horse Cave, and I-65 within 20 minutes to the west.

UTILITIES: A septic system will be needed. Only an outhouse is currently being used. The internet is from SCRTC. Power is from Farmers RECC. Water is from the Green River Valley Water District.

RESTRICTIONS: There is no building department and no zoning in Green County. There are no use restrictions in the deed.

TERRAIN: The topography consists of rolling, relatively flat, usable land.

HUNTING AND WILDLIFE: There is an abundance of every kind of native wildlife on this farm.

RECREATONAL LAKES: In adjoining counties, many fishing and recreational lakes and rivers can be easily reached. Examples are: Green River Lake, Dale Hollow Lake, Barren River Lake, Cumberland Lake and River, and Nolin Lake.

LISTING AGENT: Please call John F. Charles for a tour of this beautiful, unique property.

Now, for a non-Amish buyer, it has some “quirks”, like any Amish home would (in this case, that includes electric and plumbing), but also sounds like it has a lot going for it. So let’s have a look inside the home.

Entryway Sink

We’ll start with the entryway sink, a common feature found in nearly every Amish home. It might be found in a little room by the side door, or situated in a utility area.

It’s handy for washing off when you come in from chores. Keep in mind that with the typical Amish family numbering eight or ten or more people, you really can use a dedicated area where people can wash up.

And especially since the typical Amish lifestyle involves a lot of outside work, even in families that aren’t dairy farming. I’m going to take a wild guess that the owners of this home are named Calvin and Rosa 🙂 .

Kitchen

Continuing on to the kitchen, we’ve got a classic wood-burning cook stove, possibly/probably of the Pioneer brand popular in Amish homes.

It’s funny but I keep noticing in Amish homes that I’ve either been in, or look at online, that there is often an office chair used at the kitchen table (usually Dad’s seat, it seems).

They’ve pulled back all the chairs from the table in these photos, but you can see it here. Maybe this is because Dad likes to immediately lean back and relax after finishing another good meal.

Pantry

A quick look into the pantry area. The one thing I’ll point out here is the lighting they’re storing here; these look to be pressure lamps which burn naphtha or mineral spirits or some other type of fuel.

Each has two white lace-like mantles which are ignited and glow extremely hot and bright. Note the hooks which are used to hang them from the ceiling.

Living Room

Moving into the living room, note that this first floor area is really a large room divided in the middle by the doorway to stairs leading down to the basement.

Large spaces make large gatherings easier, and allows light, which in most Amish homes is not going to be as powerful or dispersed as in English ones, to more easily reach different parts of the room.

In this home, the lighting would be hung from the hook in the ceiling, with the rounded heat shield, which you can see in each of these photos.

This Amish church probably does not use upholstered furniture. In more progressive Amish homes you’ll find recliners and big comfy stuffed couches.

Here we have rockers with cushions, wooden chairs without them, and a two-person seat that we might call a sofa of sorts (though would be hard for most to stretch out on that one for a nap).

Bedrooms

As mentioned there are just two bedrooms in this not-fully-finished home. Here is the parents’ bedroom, as you can see there is a baby’s crib.

I also should note that I keep hearing claims on places like Facebook that “the Amish don’t use curtains”. That is incorrect, and one of those pieces of lore about the Amish that seem to persist.

And the second, more snug bedroom.

Now we come to what I teased at the start – the low-tech solution to a common household chore.

Many Amish use something called a “sad iron”, which is basically a piece of metal that is heated on a stove and attaches to a handle, which you then use to iron your clothing.

Traditional “sad irons”. Photo: Lehman’s

I’ve done it before, and managed to burn myself a bit; one of those experiences that makes you appreciate electric appliances.

Now in this photo, we can see this family’s ironing setup – an ironing board like you might see in any home, and then you’ve got the turquoise handled-iron resting on it. But what’s that next to it?

Looks like they’re using a propane torch to heat the iron – rather than using the stove. I’ve never seen that particular method of heating these irons before. But I guess it’s handier than running to the kitchen or setting everything up in the kitchen space.

Bathroom (Outhouse)

As mentioned, this home does not have an indoor bathroom – only an outhouse. Here you see how it is situated at the home – out the back door and connected by a short cement patio.

You do see them situated further from the house than that; the plus here, I suppose, is you don’t have as far to go when it’s night and sub-zero temps.

I don’t have hard figures or estimates, but I would say more Amish use conventional bathrooms than use outhouses. In other words, for a lot of Amish people, this setup would be “roughing it” to some degree. There are a lot of ways of being Amish.

Basement

Heading down into the basement for a quick look.

Fairly spacious and empty, and not as finished as some Amish basements are.

Canned goods lined up along the wall. Typically Amish homes will have them up on shelves, but this home is a work in progress to some degree.

Utility Room/Wash Room

Finally, here’s where washing clothes and other messy tasks gets done. The door on the left leads out to the outhouse.

Back Outside

A few more views from the property. This is a nice shot showing the horse barn and giving a feel for the layout.

Another view from the back of the home.

And one more.

This final photo gives a feel for the “rolling” quality of the 38 acres of land. Very nice. So what’s the price of this property? The description has already given us a clue, calling it a deal priced below-market.