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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Amish Scout Land on Prince Edward Island

Not a lot of information to this article, but I think it’s worth passing along anyway. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, two Amish families from Ontario recently spent time searching for a new home on Canada’s Prince Edward Island: Anthony Wallbank is a friend of several members of Ontario’s Amish community, and drove some of them to the Island to look at farm properties….

Amish Firemen in New York

We’ve looked at Amish participation in Pennsylvania fire companies before. And each year mud sales are held throughout Lancaster County to support those companies, which are known for their heavy Amish makeup. But did you know that some Amish in New York also serve as volunteer firemen? According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Amish are members of two fire companies in western New York, in Ovid and…

Visiting the Amish at Union Grove, NC (32 Photos)

Visiting the Amish at Union Grove, NC (32 Photos)

My first Amish trip of 2014 happened last week. I made a short visit to one of only two Amish communities in North Carolina, the Union Grove settlement. (Note: see update at end of post for the latest on NC Amish). The Union Grove community includes both Union Grove and Hamptonville addresses (Iredell and Yadkin counties). This is the western part of the state, about…

New York Amish Bishop: Casino a Threat

New York Amish Bishop: Casino a Threat

“Gambling goes against the teaching of the Bible,” Bishop Schwartz said, “and the fruits of gambling are all bad.” “Bishop Schwartz” is 43-year-old Daniel Schwartz, who sat down with the New York Times to discuss plans for a casino in his western NY community. We first heard about this back in May, when over a dozen Amish appeared in court to protest against the proposed $350 million investment….

Katie Troyer’s Pinecraft

Katie Troyer’s Pinecraft

“Maybe one each season says ‘don’t take any pictures’”. That’s friend of the blog Katie Troyer answering a question she’s no doubt heard before. You can see Katie and hear her discuss her passion in a new video (below). You may have enjoyed Katie’s photos at various places on the web (and even offline – I have a calendar featuring her work on my wall at home)….

The Amish of Garnett, Kansas

The Amish of Garnett, Kansas

Earlier this year Tom Geist shared his visits to Amish communities in Plains States, including Chouteau, Oklahoma, Hutchinson County, South Dakota, four Nebraska communities, and Yoder, Kansas. The Amish have a scattered presence across the Great Plains, which you can see in this map taken from a directory dedicated to those states (photo by Janar S). Today Tom gives us a look at another Kansas…

Amish in Monte Vista, Colorado

Ernest Bontrager has a clip of still images taken in the Amish settlement at Monte Vista, Colorado (Rio Grande and Conejos counties). It’s not a new video (2010), but is a nice look at the type of sights you might see in a western Amish settlement. I haven’t visited Amish further west than Iowa, so I like these looks at communities in the Mountain Time Zone….

What is Amish Wood Milk?

What is Amish Wood Milk?

A few months ago I started to notice search traffic coming to this site for a curious term. “Amish wood milk” is not something I’d ever heard of. But quite a few people were looking for it, with even dozens a day landing here for “Amish wood milk”-related searches. How where they arriving at Amish America, since–to my knowledge–I’d never written anything about this mystery liquid…

Amish Aid English After Silo Topples

Amish Aid English After Silo Topples

You see a lot of this type of story. Amish-helping-English or vice versa. “Feel good”, though usually a bit boring (the headline tells you all you need to know). Still I’m glad these stories are out there. Good news when a lot of what qualifies as news is downright depressing. What got my attention was the strange event that got Amish and English together in this community…

Rudy Gingerich Moving Sale at Hazleton, Iowa (19 Photos)

Rudy Gingerich Moving Sale at Hazleton, Iowa (19 Photos)

One of our readers, Carl Oliver, recently attended an event on this month’s Amish auction list. Many Amish-attended auctions are benefit sales–raising funds for medical needs, schools, and other community-wide causes. Others include estate sales, auctions run as a private business, or, as in today’s example, moving sales. You see, moving when you’re an Amish farmer is not as simple as cramming the contents of the house into…