Large Amish communities and those with a tourist focus (often one and the same) tend to get the most attention. Places like Holmes County, Ohio, Arthur, Illinois, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are both well-known and frequently-visited. There are also a number of sizeable Amish communities out there that are overlooked. They are more off-the-beaten path, less touristy for whatever reason, or overshadowed by neighboring communities….
About six weeks ago, I came across two Amish homes for sale in the community of Tripp, South Dakota (the only Amish location in the state). It seemed then that it might mean the Amish are leaving. Then just recently, I found a third Amish home for sale in the community. This is in an Amish settlement of just (an estimated) 55 people. Three homes…
May 2026 UPDATE: With one more previously “Amish-less” state – Alabama – getting an Amish presence in the past year, the size of this list decreases further – from 18 to just 17 states without Amish. So that means right about two-thirds of the states have at least one horse-and-buggy Amish location. Essentially, it’s becoming easier and easier to say where the Amish aren’t than…
A glimpse at one of Kentucky’s Swartzentruber Amish communities today, courtesy of Don Burke. The community is in Graves County, KY, and is two church districts large. Let’s have a look at some photos of this plain Amish settlement. I’ll add a few comments as we do. Horseshoeing business open three days per week. The pole does double-duty as a birdhouse perch. I’m a bit…
According to the most recent figures, the community in Adams County, Indiana, centered around the town of Berne, remains the country’s fifth-largest, with over 11,000 Amish. This is really a sprawling community spread out across the wide expanses of flat Indiana farmland. I have visited here several times over the years, but don’t know it nearly as well as other communities in the state, like nearby…
This title is meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. What I’m referring to though, is an interesting development brought to my attention by reader Al in KY. I’ve noted here in the past how the Elkhart-LaGrange and nearby Nappanee Amish settlements (first and third largest in Indiana) have essentially “grown together” in that their areas touch and overlap. For example: “Even in 2006, Amish settling…
I often get asked which Amish communities I recommend visiting. In total I’ve been to around 70 Amish communities, many of them multiple times. These are my favorites to return to. Check out the video above for more images, and more on why I enjoy each. Or if you prefer to read, here are my favorite five: 1. Holmes County, Ohio So first of…
The latest Amish population statistics have been released by the Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. After looking over the numbers I can share that – no surprise here – the Amish population is larger this year than the last. The new estimated tally is 373,620, an increase of a bit over 12,000 over the past year. This rate of…
We’ve got another collection of Don Burke photos for you today – this batch from the Amish community at Chetopa, Kansas (Labette County). We don’t talk too often about the Amish in the Sunflower State, but they have a solid and long-running presence there. In fact, several of the oldest Amish communities are in the state (namely the Haven/Yoder, Hutchinson, and Garnett communities). Chetopa is…
On Saturday my brother and I paid another visit to the Swartzentruber Amish settlement in western NC (the area of Polkville & Ellenboro). I am happy to report that the community is up to 22 households, up from around 14 in late 2019. At that time I had been informed a couple of families had moved away, and wondered if that signaled a declining trend….