Amish Communities

Ohio is home to America’s second-largest Amish population, with over 86,000 Amish living across the state. These ten communities rank as the biggest in Ohio, based on the most current Amish population estimates. Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom). 1. Holmes County Area Holmes County Area (Holmes, Wayne, Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Stark Counties) Community founded:…

Indiana is where you’ll find America’s third-largest Amish population, with over 67,000 Amish living across the state. These ten communities rank as the biggest in the Hoosier State, based on the most current population estimates. Note: two communities tie for the #10 spot, so eleven communities appear below. Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom)….

A recent piece by Marjorie Struckle in Lancaster Farming does a good job profiling something that, across the nearly 700 Amish settlements in North America, I suspect is not too uncommon — a rural community where the Amish and their non-Amish neighbors have built something genuinely mutual. The setting is Otsego County in central New York. That county is home to a full three Amish…

We often think of the Amish as living in the Midwest, and states like Pennsylvania. But Amish communities in the South are nothing new. States like Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee have seen their Amish populations grow robustly in recent decades. However, there’s one part of the South that the Amish have (for whatever reason) not settled — the “Deep South”. The Deep South is most…

How about a look-in at another off-the-beaten-path Amish settlement? This one is at Kahoka, Missouri, in the northeastern corner of the state. The photos here are all by Don Burke. The Kahoka community (Clark County) today is two church districts in size, with a little over 200 Amish residents. It’s just one of over 60 Amish settlements in Missouri. These photos were taken back in…

In the most recent Amish population report, we learned that a total of nine new Amish communities had been started in the prior year. New Amish communities come together and grow in different ways. Some see much enthusiasm from the get-go, rapidly attracting new families, some or many of whom may be related. In contrast, others are slow growers, taking time to draw in settlers….

I wanted to share some photos from my visit to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania last month. Starting Saturday night and into Sunday morning, we got a nice solid snow, which left the area blanketed in a beautiful white fluffy layer. The next morning, church service was conveniently being held at the home of friends where I was staying, so it was a great chance to attend….

Many of you probably recognize the name Don Burke as someone who has provided many wonderful photos for the site here over the years – as well as a number of excellent guest posts about visits to Amish communities. In today’s post, Don shares with us how he first came to visit one of the Amish communities he grew to know well – that of…

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…

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…