Amish Business Map – Livingston County, New York

I’m seeing more and more examples of Amish business maps, both online and off. To give a few examples, there are the multiple maps in Ethridge, Tennessee, the map we saw last week from the small Whitefield, Maine community, and this online map of the Conewango Valley, New York settlement, with over 180 Amish businesses listed.

I see the maps as good marketing by people interested in promoting tourism in these areas. That benefits the local communities including, of course, the Amish business owners.

Here is another example of a dead-tree business map, showing Amish businesses in a settlement in Livingston County, New York.

Apple butter, peaches, bread-and-butter pickles and more. Photos and story by Mary Chao/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

The county has two Amish settlements; this one, near Dansville, is the largest of the pair, at two church districts. Presumably each horse-and-buggy symbol on the map below represents an Amish business. I count about three dozen of them.

In the accompanying Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article, we learn a little more on what types of businesses these are:

The number of home businesses has grown since our last visit, before the pandemic hit.

The Dansville area of Livingston County is where you’ll find home-based Amish businesses that sell foods, quilts, woodwork, florals, birdhouses, lawn furniture and more.

And:

New to us this year is visiting Samuel and Sarah Yoder at 6215 Strong Hill Road in North Dansville. The husband and wife team makes poly lawn furniture, clocks, birdhouses and quilts.

I selected a bargello-style quilt that has a contemporary feel, and I was able to meet the artist. Sarah Yoder charges $395 for her queen-sized quilts and takes custom orders for the same price, with a three-month window for the custom orders. That’s less than half the price of Pennsylvania Amish quilts that I’ve seen online; here, you’re cutting out the middleman. And you know you have an authentic Amish-made product.

The wood birdhouses that Samuel Yoder makes are $28, and the simple Mission-style wood clocks are $250.

This bargello quilt by a woman named Sarah Yoder was priced at $395

Where to get the map, and more on the businesses:

The community of Amish home businesses is actually just north of Dansville, between Conesus and Wayland. Some are small businesses operated out of homes, while others are larger with several buildings. Samuel Yoder gave us the latest map showing the locations, and most businesses will have the maps.

Even without a map, if you drive in the area north of Dansville, you’ll see signs for the Amish businesses. The homes are along the route from Vista Hill Road and Church Road in Dansville to Stagecoach Road in Conesus.

A couple other businesses are highlighted in the article – a bulk foods store, and a greenhouse. This community is apparently pretty plain, as there are no phones. Sarah Yoder suggests communicating by letter.

Amish business maps a great idea

I think these maps can really help draw people to an Amish community, for those who wish to make them (or partner with area English to make and distribute). Many times over the years, people have asked on this website where a given business can be found in this or that community.

Outdoor dining table? Furniture by Samuel Yoder

Producing a “business-finder” map can be a win-win-win in helping bring in and connect visitors with Amish businesses and their goods and services.

Often people have just a vague idea of where an Amish community is located, and then it becomes “go there and hunt” (which also has its pluses if you’re of the right disposition).

But if people have a guide at hand so they know they’ll be able to find the places easily, it will encourage more to make the trip, especially if they’ll be coming from some distance. I hope we continue to see more examples like this.

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    11 Comments

    1. Robert Strikwerda

      Maps for Amish near Bowling Green MO

      There are maps of the Amish community near Bowling Green, Missouri at
      https://www.bowlinggreen-mo.gov/amish-community/

      1. Thanks for sharing that Robert. Another one for the list. I like the hand drawn homemade look of that map.

    2. Alice Mary

      I've been waiting...

      This certainly SEEMS like a win-win for the Amish and visitors to their area. A lot of us Amish “followers” are (ahem!) on the older side of middle-aged, and just don’t have the stamina to hunt down Amish stores in traditional Amish areas, so these types of maps would be very much appreciated! I just wonder if they might prove TOO popular and cause traffic (or tourist) jams that might cause some Amish stores to decline listing their stores/services. I hope you can let us know how it goes in this regard Erik! I, for one, would welcome the maps!

      Alice Mary

      1. That’s a fair question to ask Alice Mary – but I would not be too concerned about it as this is just one of around four dozen communities dispersed around the state. If this was the only Amosh settlement in the state, that would be one thing. But there are a lot of options for those interested in visiting the Amish in New York, and several significantly larger settlements to draw visitors as well. But even then it is different than having one big and professionally marketed community like Lancaster County for example. I think Amish who sell products to English understand that means they’ll have contact with English people. If communities want to start attracting a bit more in the way of visitors/customers I think a business map like this is not a bad idea at all.

    3. Amish Business Maps, Livingston County, New York

      Looking to plan a two or three day trip from Southern Ohio and your Amish area in Livingston County, New York would be an area that I have not visited before.
      Please send me any Amish Maps of their businesses so I might be able to plan my trip to your area.
      Thank you so much,
      George Holtzapfel
      1815 Carl Dr.
      Ironton,Ohio 45638-2314

      1. George this site does not rep Livingston County, we just share info about these sorts of places. You might try emailing or calling a local business in that area to get one though. Or just pick one up when you get there. The article I linked in this post says they are available at most businesses. Also if you go to that article, the photo they include of the map is there in a larger version. Maybe that would suffice for now.

    4. J.O.B.

      Danger of cultural assimilation

      There is also a bad side to this promotion\attention.

      Inviting traffic and tourism increases, you will see others try to take advantage.

      Hotels will start to pop up.

      More gas stations. Roads being built.

      In PA, they are building casinos near Amish settlements to take advantage of the Amish tourism.

      More non-Amish will move in as developers will build non-Amish neighborhoods.

      “Live near the Amish and enjoy the quiet and peaceful landscape” is what they will say to sell these homes. Ironically, this is the beginning of the end of the quiet and peaceful landscape as the area slowly becomes over developed.

      And the Amish will slowly change as they will be more exposed to non-Amish. They will both be living and working a lot more along the non-Amish.

      You can’t be exposed to so much and not have it give you ideas. Even change you. Little by little.

      It’s a slow process But many Amish in other areas have already started down the path of this ‘cultural assimilation.’

      1. I think you make some good points here, but as far as a big tourist industry popping up around these smaller communities,I wouldn’t be too concerned about that. It’s really a phenomenon mainly confined to the 3 largest settlements, and really to an extreme only in Lancaster County which.is already a densely settled county at half a million people and lies in the same region as the country’s densest popylation center. Other places do have tourism and some of those pressures to degrees, but I don’t think it would qualify as overwhelming.

        There are cases of land pressure driving up real estate costs due to historically old settlements now basically lying “too close” to sizeable cities – namely Allen County, IN (Fort Waybe) and Dover, Delaware.

        I would say the exposure to non Amish people and ideas is something that has happened Amish society-wide to varying degrees over the past decades, but that’s rather a function of Amish moving more into small business in lieu of dairy farming.

    5. Tylor

      Amish in New York

      I am blind and 23 years old. I have done a lot of research, and I am interested in joining the Amish. If you could please give me some information that would be great

    6. michelle

      Conewango Valley

      I was pleasantly surprised when I saw you mentioned Conewango Valley. I live very close to that area. I visit occasionally. The problem with the”map” is the roads are generally without signage and can be tricky to find.However if you ask any Amish you encounter , they will lead you to locate. The shops are very spread out.There are wood shops, Malinda’s candy where you can see into her kitchen and roadside produce stands. There are a few cane chair shops, along with tarp shops, a toy shop and of course a few quilt shops. However the quilts are very very expensive. Please note that some shops are closed on Wednesdays and all Sundays.. In the fall don’t forget Thursday weddings so if you make the trip be mindful of this. Although not Amish, the cheese shop on Rt 62 has some Amish cheese and crafts for sale and the buggies are outside with mostly friendly folks.Definatly not a tourist Mecca .

      1. Good tips Michelle, thanks. This is high on my list of communities I’d like to see.