My first Amish trip of 2014 happened last week. I made a short visit to the only Amish community in North Carolina, the Union Grove settlement.

The Union Grove community includes both Union Grove and Hamptonville addresses (Iredell and Yadkin counties).

This is the western part of the state, about 45 minutes west of Winston-Salem in what I would call foothill or pre-foothill country (you can see the beginnings of the Blue Ridge mountains from the area).

Amish in North Carolina

Union Grove is a New Order Amish settlement which has been around for nearly 30 years. While there I learned they recently started a daughter group in Chatham, Virginia (Pittsylvania County).

For as long as I’ve known of it, Union Grove has been just one church district in size, and I am assuming that’s been the case since its founding in the mid-1980s.

I had previously been here once before, in 2011 as part of a five-state Amish trip. Here’s a photo from that visit.

Well, I should say right off that the Amish business I mentioned in that post, Windsor Country Store, is no more. The look of the building below tells the story. Not much happening here any more.

I paid a visit to the owner’s home, not far away. He said they had shut down earlier this summer, June I believe. I suspect the competition from the nearby Shiloh General Store might have been too great (more on that business later).

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Wholesome Country Creamery

Wholesome Country Creamery
6400 Windsor Rd.
Hamptonville, NC 27020
(336) 468-1520

I’m happy to say there is a new Amish-owned business a stone’s throw from the old Windsor Country Store.

The Wholesome Country Creamery has been in operation just around a year, I was told by Rhoda, daughter of the owner.

You might remember this business being involved in the NC Amish barn-raising earlier this year.

Funny enough, I believe I met the owner of this business randomly while in Ohio a couple of years back at an Amishman’s viewing. I was with a Holmes County Amish friend, and as we were leaving, he shot out a hello to a gentleman just arriving.

I think the man’s hat, noticeably different from the local variety, caught his eye. The man, John Hostetler, was from the Union Grove community and lived right near the Windsor Country Store, I learned. Small world.

Back to the Wholesome Country Creamery. It’s a typical small-scale Amish home store, a little building built right next to the home.

The building holds a couple of coolers housing yogurt, milk, kefir, and other dairy items, and a freezer or two with ice cream.

Of course I was going for the ice cream, conveniently offered in single-serve sizes for $1.85, as well as larger containers.

But which of the half-dozen or so flavors to choose? When October rolls around, I feel it’s my duty to sample at least one or two of the onslaught of pumpkin-enhanced products (is it just me or does everything come with a dab of pumpkin this month?).

I don’t particularly love pumpkin anything, but it’s like egg nog or Cadbury creme eggs – you put a few down once a year and you feel you’ve participated. Done your seasonal food duty, so to speak.

While I don’t love pumpkin flavoring, I certainly don’t mind it, and I have to say this pumpkin ice cream was quite delicious.

It had a much more pumpkiny color (unfortunately, not really visible in the sun-drenched photo below) than the very white pumpkin ice cream I had about this time last year while in Florida’s Pinecraft Amish community.

Butter Pecan was choice #2, and it was excellent. There were three or four other flavors including chocolate and peach which I had to leave for next time. I hadn’t had my lunch yet folks.

I did leave with one chocolate item, the milk, which was rich, and wholesome.

As you can see by the brochure, they also sell goat dairy products. I left those alone.

A small store but worth a visit. You might also find their goods retailed in other NC stores, including in Charlotte.

Wholesome Country Creamery
6400 Windsor Rd.
Hamptonville, NC 27020
(336) 468-1520

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Shiloh General Store

Shiloh General Store
5520 St Paul Church Rd
Hamptonville, NC 27020
(336) 468-4789

The showcase business for the Union Grove community is the Shiloh General Store, the closest thing the community has to a tourist attraction.

The day I was there there were probably a dozen vehicles in the parking lot. It’s easy to see the business’s appeal.

Shiloh is primarily a food store, selling everything from canned goods to bakery items like pies and bread to deli foods to cooking ingredients like herbs and spices.

I picked up a few canned items and some sweets, including this peanut butter fudge which I photographed after it was three-quarters gone.

They also sell a wide variety of canned products produced by another local business called The Dutch Kettle. I passed this company on the road but did not stop. I’m assuming it is Amish by its appearance and name.

Shiloh General Store offers a lot of Dutch Kettle spreads and jams, including the ones with the funny names – Traffic jam, F.R.O.G jam, and a new one for me–T.O.E. jam. Yum.

They also carry the bigger brand “Amish-style” products from companies like Ohio’s Walnut Creek Foods and Amish Wedding labels.

Just a side note, a “Modesty Appreciated” sign hangs on the door here, just like at the old Windsor Country Store.

I’m not sure everyone in the store that day was following the suggestion. The coming cold weather will help those folks comply.

The Shiloh General Store also sells non-food items such as cookbooks as well as outdoor structures, which sit by the parking lot.

Interestingly, the message/advertising board by the door touts these products.

As we’ve covered before, some Amish don’t mind the Amish name on the product or ad.

Here’s the business card for Shiloh General Store:

And directions printed on the back:

Shiloh General Store
5520 St Paul Church Rd.
Hamptonville, NC 27020
336-468-4789

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Other Businesses – Union Grove Amish

Aside from these, there are a few other businesses in the Union Grove area. This is the Vinyl Structures storage buildings business.

I believe this greenhouse is Amish-owned. The tack place is non-Amish, unless this is owned by an Amish convert with a non-traditional name.

Down Windsor Road you’ll see this hydroponic tomatoes sign.

File this one under “coming soon.” There was an Amish person in a carriage at this future furniture business so I assume it’s Amish-owned.

 Visiting the Union Grove Amish

As Adrian Whicker commented on our Facebook page, “It’s tiny but a nice little place.”

Union Grove is not a place that looks immediately Amish, and if you miss the buggy warning signs you could pass right through without realizing you were in an Amish settlement.

You won’t see a ton of buggies criss-crossing the area, as being one district in size, there are simply not that many people in the community.

Frankly it is a little hard to tell the Amish homes from the non-Amish. I did see a school which I didn’t notice the last time.

The Shiloh General Store is the main attraction, and they are clearly welcoming of tourist visitors. The place is popular, with a line for their deli sandwiches and most parking spots taken on the Saturday morning I was there.

They also sell some Wholesome Country Creamery products, but I’d suggest visiting that store itself, just a short drive down Windsor Road, if you go.

Union Grove has been on the Amish map for three decades, today the sole Amish presence in a state that hasn’t had much Amish settlement in its history.

Don’t expect Lancaster County, but if you’re in the area, it is worth a visit. But bring an appetite–or at least a sweet tooth.

Tags: North Carolina Amish

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