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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Two Historic Amish Homes

Two Historic Amish Homes

Several years back Amish in Illinois made news when they moved the state’s oldest-known Amish home using horsepower (that is, at least part of the way):  This was originally the home of an Amishman named Moses Yoder, and dates to 1865. The Moses Yoder house is joined by a second historic home, the Daniel Schrock house (1882), as a focus of preservation efforts in…

A 91-Acre Amish “Cattle Farm” & Home (13 Photos)

A 91-Acre Amish “Cattle Farm” & Home (13 Photos)

This is the largest and most expensive of the properties we’ve seen from the batch of 7 Amish homes on the market in Fleming County, KY. While we’ve looked at a couple of small houses and even a 21-acre “baby farm“, today’s property could be considered more the real deal as far as Amish farms go (“grownup farm”?). Its size, at 91 acres, is a…

Minnesota Amish Lose Appeal In “Gray Water” Case

A case that we’ve followed for some time now reached another point in its journey through the court system. On Monday a Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the original decision. The article in the Post Bulletin summarizes recent events in the matter: The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a ruling Monday that would require four Fillmore County Amish families to install subsurface sewage treatment systems…

Slice Of Amish Life: Moving Mountains Of Hay

Slice Of Amish Life: Moving Mountains Of Hay

This is another great photo by Cindy Cornett Seigle. I can’t say I’ve ever encountered this exact sight coming down the road – at least not at this size. These guys are riding atop piles of hay that have them literally two – or is it three – stories up in the air. I assume they have those things well-balanced. This photo was taken in…

An Amish View On Aging & Elder Care

An Amish View On Aging & Elder Care

Here’s a simple article from the Alberta Press giving us a look at the Amish approach to “retirement” and aging. This comes from the Prince Edward Island settlement at Dundas. It largely consists of an interview with James Kuepfer, 35, and his father Peter (as an aside, note Kuepfer is not a common name among the Amish, but it is found in Canada). The men…

Amish Church Singing: Lebt Friedsam (Audio)

Amish Church Singing: Lebt Friedsam (Audio)

While we’ve lately featured numerous videos of Amish singing, we haven’t had too many examples of church singing here. If you haven’t heard Amish church singing before, today’s clip of Amish singing Lebt Friedsam, by Ed Yoder, will give you a sense of what it is like. A song leader opens with the first notes of each line of the hymn. The congregation then joins…

Amish Business Map – Livingston County, New York

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…

William C. Lindholm 1932 – 2020

William C. Lindholm 1932 – 2020

A very important person as regards Amish religious freedom passed away a month ago. I’m not sure how many Amish people know of William C. Lindholm today, but he was instrumental to the freedoms Amish now have in educating their children. Young Center Senior Scholar Steven Nolt shares the following on Lindholm and his relevance to the Amish: The Rev. William “Bill” C. Lindholm, the…

Inside A Small-But-Spacious Amish Home (22 Photos)

Inside A Small-But-Spacious Amish Home (22 Photos)

I’m a little puzzled by this home. It’s listed as having five bedrooms. But we don’t see any of them in the photos provided. We do see, however, other rooms, which are quite airy and spacious. This one is from the collection of 7 Kentucky homes for sale, which we’ve been looking at the past several weeks. It reflects the area’s hilly terrain, built as…

Buggy Struck From Behind In Smyrna, Maine; One Killed

Buggy Struck From Behind In Smyrna, Maine; One Killed

This happened Wednesday in the Smyrna, Maine community. Two young men were ejected from the buggy. One was killed; the second has critical injuries. “The crash is still under investigation, but it appears that speed was a factor,” said Aroostook County Sheriff Shawn Gillen. From the Bangor Daily News: NEW LIMERICK, Maine — A 25-year-old Smyrna man was killed Wednesday evening when a vehicle struck…