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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Inside An Amish Home With 100-Tree Peach Orchard (20 Photos)

Inside An Amish Home With 100-Tree Peach Orchard (20 Photos)

This Michigan home for sale comes with a 100-tree peach orchard – and possibly even an Amish school building? More on that in a minute. The community is Pittsford, which is in Hillsdale County, home to four Amish settlements. It appears to be the community at Osseo going by the latest Amish community listings. Hillsdale County has a special place in my own personal Amish…

Someone Is Throwing Rocks Through Amish Windows In Ohio

Someone Is Throwing Rocks Through Amish Windows In Ohio

And not only rocks. Someone (or someones) is attacking Amish homes in the early morning hours, throwing dangerous objects through home windows. This has played out in a series of attacks on Amish residences in north-central Ohio over the past several months. From the report by News 5 Cleveland: MEDINA, Ohio — The Medina County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a string of crimes committed against…

2023 Amish Population: Five Years & 50,000 More Amish

2023 Amish Population: Five Years & 50,000 More Amish

The annual horse-and-buggy Amish population figures have been released by the Young Center at Elizabethtown College. The total Amish population is estimated at 383,565 people. That breaks down to 377,275 in the United States, 6,100 in Canada, and 190 in South America. And of course the count continues to steadily rise. If we look at the numbers from just five years ago, the Amish population…

Amish Author Linda Byler Rejects Blame For Sexual Abuse Placed On Her Novels

Amish Author Linda Byler Rejects Blame For Sexual Abuse Placed On Her Novels

Linda Byler is one of the most successful of all authors of Amish romance novels. One thing that makes Linda stand out is that she herself is Amish. Linda recently spoke to the UK Daily Mail. For those unfamiliar, that is a tabloid paper. And the article has a tabloidy feel, but that aside it’s interesting – in part because of how frankly Linda speaks….

Visiting Amish Businesses at Unity, Maine (8 Photos)

Visiting Amish Businesses at Unity, Maine (8 Photos)

Judy Stavisky, author of In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women, paid a visit recently to the Amish community at Unity, Maine, with stops at a pair of businesses. The Unity community has been featured here and in other media fairly often in the past. For example, here’s a look at some of the things that make Unity an atypical Amish community (which…

Inside A “Charming Off-Grid Amish-Built Home & Farm” (28 Photos)

Inside A “Charming Off-Grid Amish-Built Home & Farm” (28 Photos)

One thing I like about doing this Amish Homes series is the variety of homes we get to see. Compare what you’re about to see with the last one we covered, a Lancaster Amish shop home. This week’s Amish home is found in Michigan. The description via realtor.com: At the end of W. 11 Mile, you will find this charming off-grid Amish built home and…

More Amish Voices

More Amish Voices

Back in May we heard from Brad Igou on Amish Voices Volume 2: In Their Own Words, 1993-2020, a collection of writings from the Amish publication Family Life, which Brad compiled. Brad also shared some unused selections at that time. Today we’ve got another batch of writings that didn’t quite make it into Amish Voices 2. As Brad explained, choosing which ones to include and…

Meeting Mrs. Miller

Meeting Mrs. Miller

If you have Amish friends or acquaintances, you might just have a strong memory of how you met them. I can clearly recall the morning years ago I met one Amish couple who eventually became close family friends. Their oldest child – who was then just a tot in a baby seat perched on the back of a horse-drawn planter – is now out of…

Inside A “Modern Cozy” Lancaster County Amish Home (22 Photos)

Inside A “Modern Cozy” Lancaster County Amish Home (22 Photos)

The home we’re going to look at today will probably have some people saying “that’s not an Amish home!” Well, it happens to be one. It’s just one of the more modern-looking homes (at least inside) you’ll see among the Amish. That said, the interior style you’ll see here is becoming increasingly common among Amish in more progressive communities, like Lancaster County, where this home…

Check Out What’s In This $3 Amish Auction “Junk Box”

Check Out What’s In This $3 Amish Auction “Junk Box”

Reader Denise Joyal sends a report from a benefit auction which took place in May in Hopkinton, Iowa. While there, Denise purchased a $3 “junk box” – and by the looks of what was inside, she got a great deal! Let’s check out what three Washingtons can get you at an Amish auction these days. First, here’s the newspaper ad for the auction. It was…