I’ve put together a video overview of the Amish in Tennessee. The great footage is by Michael Pilkinton of the Amish of Ethridge, TN site/Facebook page. Michael traveled around the state to several communities beyond his home area of Ethridge, which gives a really nice visual overview of Tennessee Amish places. As of 2022: Approximately […]

Continue Reading The Amish in Tennessee (Video)

The Lancaster County mud sale schedule for 2023 is now available, with the first event happening just a month from now. These Amish-heavy events draw members of the community and outside visitors in support of the local volunteer fire companies. Many have large numbers of Plain volunteers on their rosters. A mud sale is an […]

Continue Reading The 2023 Amish Mud Sale Schedule (Lancaster County Auction Calendar)

Visit the larger tourist-friendly Amish communities, and you’ll find the label “Pennsylvania Dutch” or just “Dutch”, and variations of it, everywhere. Amish use the term as well, for instance in the names of their businesses, or in nicknames. But where does this term come from? When you hear “Dutch” in a vacuum, the Netherlands (or […]

Continue Reading Where does the “Dutch” in “Pennsylvania Dutch” REALLY come from?

This is a neat article (Jamestown Post-Journal) on the opening of one Amish family’s new pizza place, the aptly-named “Family Night Pizza”. On first glance, the article title itself is eye-catching, for more reasons than one: “Amish Owned Pizza Business Has Opened In Panama”. That would be Panama, New York – not the Central American […]

Continue Reading Amish-Owned Pizza Place? Why Not

Returning to the Inside Amish Homes series, let’s have a look inside a very plain Amish home (and a little bit unfinished, at least on the outside). This one is in Fultonville, New York and it generally has the look of a Swartzentruber home…but some details don’t seem quite right (the floor and a few […]

Continue Reading Inside A Plain But Not-Quite-Finished Amish Home (16 Photos)

Which are the oldest Amish settlements? You can check out the list here or watch the short video below for the answer. Of these oldest communities: three of them were founded in the 1700s one of them is located outside of the US five of them were founded in one noteworthy seven-year stretch just one […]

Continue Reading The Ten Oldest Amish Communities

The Amish here told the judge they prefer jail to paying fines for violating Ohio’s new buggy lighting law. That might seem surprising. But it’s not, if you’ve paid attention to how these things go with Swartzentruber Amish. From Ashland Source: ASHLAND — A group of eight Amish people refused to pay their fines for their […]

Continue Reading Amish Buggy Light Law Violators Go To Jail In April

After 15+ years of writing a blog on the Amish, from time to time I still hear from people who wish to become Amish. I usually advise people to take a look at what is attracting them to want to join the Amish. Often, I suspect, the real reasons have little to do with the […]

Continue Reading Six Reasons Why People Fail To Join The Amish

With the expansion of the Amish to more and more locations (over 600 of them now in North America), and the recent addition of a new Amish state (New Mexico), it’s becoming easier to say where the Amish aren’t than where they are. Now, that said, many states just have a small Amish presence – […]

Continue Reading The 18 States WITHOUT An Amish Community

Amish homes have certain features that you’ll tend to see over and over again, due to how useful they are. The following are all features I made use of – and found myself appreciating, some more than others – on my latest visit staying with Amish friends in Pennsylvania. Useful features found in Amish homes […]

Continue Reading 5 Especially Useful Amish Home Features

In this video I show you more of my visit to the horse-and-buggy Mennonite community in Buffalo Valley (Union County, PA). You’ve already seen the posts on the Mennonite bakery and market – they appear here too as well. Additional things you’ll see in this video are a visit with to an old cemetery in […]

Continue Reading Visiting Plain Mennonites (Video)

A heartwarming story out of Vernon County, Wisconsin. A man named Bill Markee had a special relationship with the local Amish community. They apparently felt similarly towards him, as you’ll see in this account (via news8000.com): “My dad was a unique individual who could carry a conversation with anybody,” said Mat Markee. Born in 1936, […]

Continue Reading Amish Community Fulfills Last Wish Of English Friend

Another year comes to a close. I hope yours was a good one. I’ll finish up 2022 with what I usually do – a look back at some favorite posts of the soon-to-conclude year. “Favorite” means well-commented or just generally liked by you (or me). I’ve listed these in no particular order, other than chronologically. […]

Continue Reading Favorite Posts of 2022 (And one piece of news)

As promised, following the look inside a plain Mennonite market, let’s check out the bakery. As you might recall this was found just next door to the market in the Snyder County, PA Stauffer Mennonite community (Port Trevorton area). We were met by the aroma of what I thought was apple cobbler as we exited […]

Continue Reading Visiting a Mennonite Bakery (16 Photos)

While in Lancaster County I took a trip with a friend and his son to an Old Order (horse-and-buggy) Mennonite community in the Buffalo Valley area of Pennsylvania. It’s about a two and a half hour drive and there had been inclement weather that day, which worsened as we headed further north. We did get […]

Continue Reading Visiting a Mennonite Market (21 Photos)

I just got back from a very Christmas-y week in Lancaster County. Christmas is in the air everywhere, even though it was warmish with not a ton of frozen precipitation (except for one morning). Amish families have been doing late-in-the-game shopping for Christmas presents, just like non-Amish people are this week, and some have already […]

Continue Reading Opening Christmas Gifts from Amish Friends (Video)

This video – of a vehicle rear-ending an Amish buggy – is worth checking out. Why? It’s the first I’ve ever seen of a buggy actually being hit. And it comes from an unexpected place – a sheriff deputy’s body camera as he was driving his vehicle. The incident took place in late October in Chautauqua […]

Continue Reading Video Shows (Distracted) Sheriff Deputy’s Vehicle Striking Amish Buggy

A potentially grim story with a happy ending in a Wisconsin Amish community. From WKOW: GRANT COUNTY (WKOW) — An Amish baby who was missing for two hours in Grant County Friday was found safe thanks to the help of a Good Samaritan. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office was first notified about the missing baby […]

Continue Reading Horse Bolts With Amish Baby In Buggy; Found 2 Hours Later

This is the video from my visit to Four Mile Furniture in Jackson County, Ohio. Owners Emery and Rachel Miller operate the store. When I stopped in, Emery was on his way out, but Rachel was able to give me a tour of the store. The visit was peppered with a number of surprises and […]

Continue Reading A Surprising Visit To an Amish Furniture Store (Video)

A glimpse at one of Kentucky’s Swartzentruber Amish communities today, courtesy of Don Burke. The community is in Graves County, KY, and is two church districts large. Let’s have a look at some photos of this plain Amish settlement. I’ll add a few comments as we do. Horseshoeing business open three days per week. The […]

Continue Reading 12 Views from the Amish of Graves County, Kentucky

In the video below I explain two main reasons why Amish restrict their children’s schooling to eight grades. If you’d prefer to read this in post form, you can do that here. Some additional things to know about Amish & schooling: Amish school teachers are usually young women in the community (though some men do […]

Continue Reading Two Reasons Why Amish Limit Education

In this video I share five reasons people either a) decide not to join the Amish (that is, decide not to be baptized), or b) leave the Amish church after joining. I call it “leaving” in either case (and explain that at the beginning), even though the consequences are different. Not everyone who is born […]

Continue Reading 5 Reasons People Leave the Amish

According to the most recent figures, the community in Adams County, Indiana, centered around the town of Berne, remains the country’s fifth-largest, with over 11,000 Amish. This is really a sprawling community spread out across the wide expanses of flat Indiana farmland. I have visited here several times over the years, but don’t know it nearly […]

Continue Reading 10 Views From the Berne, Indiana Amish Community

An Amish community was founded at Rector, Arkansas back in 2009. Though it managed to attract a number of families (including a minister), it never grew very large, and eventually went extinct about five years later. Despite their rapid growth and many new communities being founded yearly, this happens to some Amish settlements – for […]

Continue Reading Inside An Abandoned Amish School

This happened in the Geauga County Amish settlement, which is notorious for its wild youth and parties. The boy who lost his life early Sunday morning was 17-year-old Mark Slabaugh. It is described as an “Amish party” attended by around 200 people in this video report by WFMJ. Though he’s not identified as such anywhere […]

Continue Reading Teen Struck By Car, Killed At “Amish Party” (Geauga County)

I run through my five favorite Amish sweet treats in this video. I am calling them “desserts” in the post title, but I guess one or two of them might not be technically desserts, though it’s arguable 🙂 I also share two that I’m not so fond of. What are your favorite Amish desserts, baked […]

Continue Reading My Five Favorite Amish Desserts (Video)

Christy Otto is an Amishman living in the LaGrange-Elkhart County settlement in northern Indiana. He is known for his artwork. Being an artist and Amish is not the most common combination, but there are more and more people who can describe themselves that way. Christy has become quite well-known in Amish circles for his drawings […]

Continue Reading Q & A with Amish Artist Christy Otto (Book Giveaway)

In this video I explain why Amish don’t want – or maybe the better word is “need” – outsiders to join them. The Amish are not a group which seeks converts. That said, some churches are more seeker-friendly. For anyone considering joining the Amish, it’s always good to know what you are getting into. Most […]

Continue Reading 3 Reasons Why Amish Don’t Want You To Join Them

The new Ohio law requiring flashing yellow lights on horse-drawn vehicles came into effect in September. And as predicted here months (and years) back, some Amish in the state are not complying. From Fox 8: ASHLAND, Ohio (WJW) – A new law that makes flashing yellow lights mandatory on Amish buggies, and other horse-drawn vehicles […]

Continue Reading Surprise: Some Amish Ignoring Ohio Buggy Light Law

The above is a comment someone left on the recent video on the Amish popcorn shop. Lot of plastic packaging in that shop, like in any Amish-owned store that sells food (or other products for that matter). I find this expression of disapproval interesting for a few reasons. I think it reveals a few possible […]

Continue Reading “Why are the Amish using plastic packaging? I am so disappointed.”