Amish History

By the end of 2024, the number of Amish communities, known as settlements, will likely exceed 700. As recently as 1999, that number was slightly less than 300. The phenomenal growth of Amish settlements is nearly as rapid as the growth of its population. Although settlement growth is remarkable, there is the other side of Amish history – the settlements that did not make it….

When you think of “Amish Country“, odds are you don’t think of places like this: Or this: And certainly not this: But throughout their history, Amish have lived in places like the above. I find the stories behind these communities fascinating. Communities in such far-flung and unusual locations typically don’t last forever. But their prior existence proves that the Amish are both adventurous and adaptable….

What was Amish life like 65 years ago? Last week I came across a documentary called, simply, “The Old Order Amish”.  This was filmed in Lancaster County and was just recently uploaded to YouTube. It’s on the Periscope Films channel, a company that preserves rare and obscure old films. It’s a fascinating nugget from the past and I recommend watching (it’s viewable at the end…

Visit the larger tourist-friendly Amish communities, and you’ll find the label “Pennsylvania Dutch” or just “Dutch”, and variations of it, everywhere. Amish use the term as well, for instance in the names of their businesses, or in nicknames. But where does this term come from? When you hear “Dutch” in a vacuum, the Netherlands (or Holland) invariably come to mind. And some accounts mistakenly have…

An Amish community was founded at Rector, Arkansas back in 2009. Though it managed to attract a number of families (including a minister), it never grew very large, and eventually went extinct about five years later. Despite their rapid growth and many new communities being founded yearly, this happens to some Amish settlements – for various reasons. Don Burke paid a visit to the Rector…

Amish no longer live in Europe, but how are they remembered there today? Romain Speisser shares one example from a hometown of Jakob Ammann. Amman lived in the area of Saint-Marie-aux-Mines (once known as Markirch) for years until Anabaptists were expelled from the region in 1712. Today, it hosts an annual event commemorating its Amish history, as Romain describes below. As every year since 1995,…

In this video I give the origins of the Anabaptist movement in brief, and describe how the Amish emerged from that movement at the end of the 17th century. I also explain who Jakob Ammann and Menno Simons were. Contrary to what some might suppose, the two never crossed paths, with Ammann arriving on the scene around 150 years after Simons. Menno Simons was a…

People often wonder about Georgia when it comes to the Amish.  Maybe it’s because the Peach State borders other states with Amish communities. The Amish have been settling in the South in greater numbers lately. But are there in fact Amish in Georgia? Despite Amish growth in the South, Georgia currently has no Old Order Amish (horse-and-buggy Amish) population. However, Georgia does have a Beachy…

This barn-raising story has some history attached. In Amish history, the name Joseph Johns is noteworthy, as he was the founder of present-day Johnstown, Pennsylvania. An Amish crew has rebuilt a barn which burned down on Johns’ former farm, and which had been built by his grandson Joseph Johns III. You might be wondering both about the surname here and the idea of an Amishman…