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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Four Men Indicted in “Appalling” Assault & Robbery at Amish Home (UPDATE: Could Face Over 50 Years in Prison | UPDATE #2: Ringleader Pleads Guilty)

Four Men Indicted in “Appalling” Assault & Robbery at Amish Home (UPDATE: Could Face Over 50 Years in Prison | UPDATE #2: Ringleader Pleads Guilty)

ByErik Wesner
7 Comments

March 2026 Update: “Ringleader” Bradford Hosler has now pleaded guilty to two counts as part of a plea deal. Full update at bottom of post. October brought news of an “appalling” attack upon an Amish family in Geauga County, Ohio. In it, an Amish man was brutally assaulted, and the culprits even attempted to abduct a young Amish boy (who fortunately somehow escaped. Now the…

17 Striking Winter Photos That Show Amish Country at Its Most Beautiful

17 Striking Winter Photos That Show Amish Country at Its Most Beautiful

ByErik Wesner
8 Comments

Winter brings a quiet shift to Amish Country, as snow blankets farms, fields, and country roads. With slower days and fewer visitors, the season transforms the landscape, highlighting details that might go unnoticed at other times of year. These 17 striking photos capture moments – both serene and dynamic – in the wintertime lives of the Amish. Today is the official start of winter, so…

Snow Plow Spooks Amish Horse, Sends Buggy Into Ditch – Then Comes To The Rescue

Snow Plow Spooks Amish Horse, Sends Buggy Into Ditch – Then Comes To The Rescue

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

Here’s a buggy incident with a “happy ending”. A plow (assuming they mean snow plow) spooked an Amish buggy horse, sending the buggy straight into a ditch. But the driver noticed, and stopped to help. More from WGRZ: CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, N.Y. — The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office said no one was injured after an Amish buggy recently went into a ditch. Initially reported as a…

Pennsylvania’s 10 Biggest Amish Communities

Pennsylvania’s 10 Biggest Amish Communities

ByErik Wesner
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Pennsylvania is home to the nation’s largest Amish population. These ten communities rank as the biggest in the state, based on the most current population estimates. Pennsylvania has the largest of all Amish settlements – found in well-known Lancaster County. But the Amish live in many more locations across the state. Here’s a look at the top 10 Pennsylvania Amish communities by size. Population numbers…

This Unusual Amish Community Lies In Two States

This Unusual Amish Community Lies In Two States

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

And while it’s uncommon, it’s not the only one like that. The Amish community at Littlestown, Pennsylvania (Adams County) also stretches into Carroll County, Maryland. The young settlement is the subject of a recent report by WHP/CBS 21. In 2021, Joe Donnermeyer compiled a list of Two-State Amish Settlements for us, which included over a dozen such communities. This one should also go on that…

Semi Smashes Buggy, Leaving Horse Dead and Amish Man Seriously Injured

Semi Smashes Buggy, Leaving Horse Dead and Amish Man Seriously Injured

ByErik Wesner
9 Comments

An Amish man has been left with life-threatening injuries, and a horse dead after an 18-wheeler struck a buggy in Ohio’s largest Amish community. More from WKBN: STARK COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – A crash involving a semi-truck and a horse-drawn buggy hospitalized one man and killed a horse. That’s according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The crash happened just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday…

Amish-Backed Bank Reaches $1.7 Billion In Assets

Amish-Backed Bank Reaches $1.7 Billion In Assets

ByErik Wesner

A popular Amish-backed bank has recently opened its eighth location, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Bank of Bird-in-Hand was founded in 2013 and has proven an unmitigated success story for its customers in the southeastern Pennsylvania region. The bank has made news often in the past – including for its unusual means of reaching its customers – providing a “Gelt Bus” mobile bank to make…

Man & Woman Attempt To Kidnap Amish Boy; Suspects Remain At Large (Ohio)

Man & Woman Attempt To Kidnap Amish Boy; Suspects Remain At Large (Ohio)

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

It’s happened again. Authorities seek a man and a woman wanted for an attempted kidnapping of an Amish boy – only the latest attempted abduction of an Amish child. This happened yesterday in Gallia County, Ohio, in the southern end of the state. More from WSAZ: GALLIA COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – Deputies are investigating a reported attempted abduction that allegedly happened Wednesday in Green Township….

This Virginia County Might Be First To Test a High-Tech Amish Buggy Warning System

This Virginia County Might Be First To Test a High-Tech Amish Buggy Warning System

ByErik Wesner
6 Comments

Two months after it was first reported, a high-tech warning system designed to alert drivers to Amish buggies on the roads might be coming to life in one county in Virginia. Reports are that Pittsylvania County, VA might be the first to see this system in use – at least the first in Virginia. It’s unclear if this has been tested or implemented elsewhere. And…

DUI Driver Hits Amish Buggy; It Tips Over & Drags Down The Road

DUI Driver Hits Amish Buggy; It Tips Over & Drags Down The Road

ByErik Wesner

This had to be frightening. The 22-year-old Amish woman inside was dragged down the road (while still inside the buggy, fortunately). Also, fortunately, it turns out she is alright. Yet another bad experience delivered by an (alleged) DUI driver. This one happened in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Here’s more via the Daily Voice: Brad J. Rodarmel, 46, was driving a 2005 Honda Pilot when he tried to…