Author: Erik Wesner

Erik Wesner is the creator of amishamerica.com, and author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look At Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Erik began visiting Amish communities in 2004 – eventually meeting thousands of Amish families while selling books.

He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.

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Unsealed Documents: Justo Smoker Texted Brother 15 Times “Directly After” Stoltzfoos Disappearance

Unsealed Documents: Justo Smoker Texted Brother 15 Times “Directly After” Stoltzfoos Disappearance

ByErik Wesner
6 Comments

Some new info in the Linda Stoltzfoos disappearance case. Unsealed court documents have shown that kidnapping suspect Justo Smoker sent multiple messages to his brother Victor in a window of time beginning about 20 minutes after Linda was last seen. The detective who applied for the search warrant stated that the text messages “would be directly after Linda Stoltzfoos was kidnapped.” Via Lancaster Online: In…

Amish Brothers Escape Jail Time In Abuse Case

ByErik Wesner
23 Comments

This is a really ugly story which has been making its way around the web the past few days. I take no joy in covering this but it is an “Amish” story, and one that is getting attention for reasons which raise questions about equal treatment. Two adult brothers plead guilty to molesting their minor-age sister in the Seymour, Missouri Amish community. Here’s a summary…

Inside An Enon Valley, PA Amish Home (20 Photos)

Inside An Enon Valley, PA Amish Home (20 Photos)

ByErik Wesner

I was both surprised and unsurprised to come across an Amish home listing from the Enon Valley, Pennsylvania settlement. Surprised because it is a very small community. Unsurprised because it’s an unusual community, one that’s quite old but where Amish residents apparently don’t remain for very long on the whole. We saw the Enon Valley community early last year in a post I did on…

Lancaster City Is Not “Amish Country”

ByErik Wesner
18 Comments

The word “Amish” is getting attached to the events in Lancaster city following an incident in which a man was shot and killed by police. Specifically, some media sources have been framing this as something like “trouble in Amish Country” – but that is a mis-framing. Lancaster city is in the middle of Lancaster County, but it’s hardly “Amish Country”. There are a good number…

Lovina Eicher: Water Pump Challenges In An Amish Home

ByErik Wesner
19 Comments

In her latest, Lovina Eicher, an Amish mother of eight who writes the Lovina’s Amish Kitchen column, explains a challenge of everyday Amish life – making sure the water pump is working reliably enough for a shower. Lovina’s household’s water pump is run by a battery, in this case a solar powered-one. Lately in her Michigan community the sun hasn’t been doing its job, which…

5 Vintage Amish Postcard Scenes

5 Vintage Amish Postcard Scenes

ByErik Wesner
10 Comments

I really enjoy looking at old postcards. I came across five interesting vintage Amish postcards on Flickr to share with you. Several of these are from the Lancaster County area. One or two have a touch of humor to them. Let’s have a look. 1. Greetings From The Pennsylvania Dutch Country This is a card with classic “PA Dutch” iconogaphy and lettering. Lancaster Amish Country…

15 Injured In Virginia Amish Buggy Crash; Buggy Accidents Decline In Lancaster County

15 Injured In Virginia Amish Buggy Crash; Buggy Accidents Decline In Lancaster County

ByErik Wesner
5 Comments

A somewhat bad news, and a rare good news story today in the buggy accidents department. First, this is the largest number of accident victims I have ever seen in a buggy incident. Thankfully, they all seem to have just minor injuries. The accident happened in Buckingham County, Virginia. This is the same area as the Farmville settlement which I visited and wrote about here…

An “English-Ready” Swartzentruber Amish Home (15 Photos)

An “English-Ready” Swartzentruber Amish Home (15 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
17 Comments

Swartzentruber Amish homes are among the very plainest. They tend to fetch lower prices when put on the market, in part due to their lack of basic amenities including not just electricity but bathrooms and plumbing. This Swartzentruber home was last listed at $130,000 in spring 2019, though the Zillow listing now has its “Zestimate” of the property at $80,188. Not sure why there is…

Goot Essa: Buy Amish Cheese Direct Online

Goot Essa: Buy Amish Cheese Direct Online

ByErik Wesner
8 Comments

Goot Essa is an Amish business in Centre County, PA that sells 19 types of cheeses. Though this is a traditional Amish dairy – and not in the Lancaster County area – they’ve built a nice reach into some upscale markets. Prior to the lockdown, they were selling their offerings to hundreds of East Coast restaurants, upscale food shops, and wineries, reports the Centre Daily…

Is “Millie” Real? Ex-Amish Fundraiser Follow-Up (Updated)

Is “Millie” Real? Ex-Amish Fundraiser Follow-Up (Updated)

ByErik Wesner
5 Comments

I promised I would follow up if I got more information on the Go Fund Me for Millie, described as a 27-year-old woman who left her Amish community, in what looks to be Delaware. A number of you were skeptical that this was real, which I can understand. While I reached out via two different channels to the fundraiser organizer for more information, I have…