In 1991, there were 215 Amish settlements in North America. 20 years later, the number was 427 (see this 20-year review at the Amish Studies site). The Amish population doubles every 2 decades (give or take). But this doesn’t mean that existing communities just double in size. As they grow, Amish move. Big communities lose members to daughter settlements. Smaller settlements shed residents too, as Amish form new churches…
I thought I’d share a bit more on one of the most obvious visual markers of Amish – the buggy. As you probably know, buggy styles can vary across the hundreds of Amish settlements in North America. Below are the five main styles I encountered on a recent trip. Four of them are not commonly seen, driven by only a minority of Amish in certain…
We all know Amish travel by horse-and-buggy. Most ride as passengers in cars, and pretty much all Amish will take the bus or train when need be. But how about shorter trips? Here are five more ways Amish get from point A to point B: 1. Bicycle Bicycles are fairly common, especially in larger Midwestern Amish communities. Amish-owned bikes can be pretty fancy. In places…