Did you know that the South has more states with an Amish population than any other region? First, there’s the question of what defines a region. The South of today is a vast, diverse place. But I think it’s safe to say some states seem more traditionally “southern” than others. For instance, is South Carolina more southern than, say, Maryland? Other states sort of fit…
Which states are home to the most Amish? Here are the top 15 states ordered by how many Amish people live in each. Numbers are based on the 2018 figures from the Young Center. I’ve grouped the states into 3 tiers below. You’ll also find a brief description of each state’s Amish population. The three figures in parentheses are: Number of settlements as of June 2018 Total number…
Reader Jim Halverson shares photos today from the northern Indiana Amish settlement. Taken on more than one occasion throughout the year, these are some nice shots showing buggy traffic and other activities going on in the settlement. I’ll let Jim take it from here to describe what we’re seeing in this visit to the world’s third largest Amish community. I have recently been making a…
The Young Center have released their 2018 Amish population numbers. In 2018, Amish are found in 31 states, four Canadian provinces, and two countries in South America. You can find the full tables here, an overview of the 2018 population, and a list of the 12 largest settlements. Manitoba is the only new addition this year as far as new states/provinces/countries. Five things of note:…
Mike Sparks, who gave us a look at the Amish community in Ashland County, OH, returns to share his recent visit to the settlement in Holmes and Wayne Counties. Mike has been visiting and learning about the Amish for over four decades now. I’ll let Mike take it away with a little description of his background and then his photos of the early-July trip. If…
Last year we heard about Amish planning to move to a fourth Canadian province, Manitoba. Reader Urs Christen recently paid a visit to this small community and shares photos and a brief account. Urs was not able to visit businesses as it was a Sunday, but you can see there are at least one or two baked goods places there. This community is located in…
Do the plainest Amish shun tourists, as you might suppose? Not in the case of the Amish at Ethridge, Tennessee. Mary Hance details her visit to the comunity at Ethridge in a recent article for the Tennessean. This is an interesting community as it is one of the most traditional, but also rather tourist-friendly. This Swartzentruber Amish settlement has many farms and a lot of…
Reader Mike Sparks shares photos from a Sunday visit to Ashland County, Ohio. Most of these are from the Swartzentruber settlement, though you’ll see several from the nearby Old Order community. Note the unusual buggy triangle in the final photo. Ashland County has several distinct Amish settlements. Sunday afternoon in Amish communities is a peaceful time. There is an increased amount of buggy and foot…
In 2015 it was reported that Amish were moving to Vermont, to the area of Orleans County, part of a region known as the Northeast Kingdom. Vermont joined Maine to become the second New England state to currently have an Amish community. The Black Hills Pioneer (no longer online) updates us on the group three years later: BROWNINGTON — The yellow street signs showing a horse-drawn…
Don Burke is back with a visit to another Midwestern Amish community, that of West Plains, Missouri (Howell County). Don discovered several surprising things in this small and relatively young settlement, two of them having to do with the local Amish transportation. I hope you enjoy Don’s account and photos below. In the autumn of 2016 my wife and I decided to take a couple…