The Amish of Cass City, Michigan (14 Photos)

Jim Halverson is back today with a great set of photos from a more “off-the-beaten-path” Amish community – this one at Cass City, Michigan – one of the state’s 50+ Amish locations. Despite what it might sound like, Cass City is actually a village of about 2,500 people, and Amish live in the surrounding areas of three counties. Jim tells the story of this settlement below in words and pictures. 

Last week I went to the area armed with 2023 Michigan Amish Directory. It has some good maps pointing out the Amish homes and businesses. It’s an interesting area – all work – no tourists. There are sawmills, bakeries, and I saw a large produce farm. I learned that on Fridays there is a commercial produce auction.

According to the 2023 Michigan Amish Directory, in 1992, several men from Geauga County, Ohio began searching for more affordable land. They ended up in the central part of Michigan’s “thumb”. For a reference, this is in the Bad Axe – Cass City area.

The first families moved to this area in the spring of 1993 and, according to the Directory, everyone who moved to the area that first year started out milking cows. This has shifted to feeding calves (as opposed to a milking operation).

Driving in the area, one can still see a few Amish farms that have dairy cows, but there are also several corporate mega-farms with over 3,000 cows. The Directory does list dairy farming as an occupation for a few families, but most of the listed occupations include calf farmer, woodworking, logging, sawmill, tarp shop, retail and bakery.

Countryside Sales.

Horseshoes and more inside the store.

Another common occupation is produce grower. There were several farms that appeared to be commercial growers as the vegetables were being loaded into large produce boxes.

I was told that these farms sell their produce at the Green Thumb Produce Auction which is held three times a week.

I thought I might see Amish buyers, but the only Amish there were workers. There weren’t even any buggies parked outside. The place sure smelled good!

The Directory shows 11 schools. I was told that there are six church districts and that they fellowship with communities in Middlefield, Ohio and Clare, Michigan.

Because the community wasn’t started until the 1990’s, some families live in “English” homes. I was told that they disconnected the electricity when they moved in.

So, driving in the area one sees the more traditional looking Amish homes, as well as families living in older homes. Most homes do have indoor plumbing but there are not the phone shanties like one sees in northern Indiana.

This community was founded in 1992, so some of the Amish moved into existing homes in the area. One person I talked to said that in cases like that, they had the electricity disconnected. Most of the Amish homes in the area have indoor bathrooms.

The guy said they are threshing spelt. It’s similar to oats. They were so busy and it was so loud, so I didn’t ask any questions.

They have the stalked grain in the wagon and they put it into a bin that separates the grain from the stalked and then the stalked go thru the bailer for straw. It’s powered by a belt run through the motor of a tractor.

This photo is at a large farm that had a huge green house full of tomatoes, and large fields of cabbage and corn. The girls in the field looked quite young and they were cutting cabbages and putting them in large, commercial produce boxes.

The woman at the Busy Bee bakery told me that they sell the produce at the Green Thumb produce auction which is held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Thank you to Jim for the nice visit to this settlement. If you’re thinking of a visit to an Amish community, check out our Amish Country: Where to Go guide for recommendations on 25 communities, or the Amish State Guide for a broader look at settlements across the nation.

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