This is a neat and tidy Pennsylvania Amish home of 2,282 square feet, found in the Smicksburg community. There was a second home on the same lane for sale as well, probably the neighboring place. I imagine those might have been related families who moved away to a new settlement together.
Smicksburg (Indiana County) is the largest of the Amish communities I have yet to visit, at 25 church districts. That probably works out to around 3,000 Amish people in this settlement, so a sizeable number. If you’ve visited there, I’ll be pleased to hear anything you can share in the comments.
Not a lot of photos online for this household, but the ones we have show us a simple and fairly plain Amish dwelling.
The kitchen from another angle.
On the left you’ll notice a dispenser to keep large quantities of everyone’s friend Joe at the ready. Or, might be a sign these people had church recently.
Three of the rockers have their own rugs.
The place has four bedrooms, and also one bathroom. So the Ordnung here is not as restrictive as in some places we’ve seen.
The upstairs looks like it is already cleared out in anticipation of a move.
Back downstairs, a utility or multi-purpose room. This is probably where canning happens and garden veggies are sorted and peeled and where muddy boots and clothes get tossed.
Closer look at the large stove. I believe there is a smaller canning stove on the left in the photo above.
Horse barn.
This property sits on a very small plot of land for an Amish home – a bit less than an acre. How much were the owners asking?
It was last listed in 2018 for $79,900. That noted, Zillow estimates the market value now to be a bit over $100,000, for what that’s worth.
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Another good one.
I like it. A little more land would make it even better.
Smicksburg
I am pretty familiar with Smicksburg!
They are really quite a conservative Ordnung, as far as I can tell. Examples:
They do have-and use- outhouses. Not sure how the running water in the house works.
The women where the large black bonnets when away from home.
Men’s shirts are homemade (in holmes you see a lot of store bought polo shirts)
They use reel lawn mowers.
The cooking stoves are antiques. I understood they had the oven on the top, but this stove doesn’t so I may be mistaken or the rules might have changed as they are coming harder to find. (Like the stove on Lassie, or the movie A Christmas Story) They paint them black. And I believe they use ice boxes too.
No bikes or scooters. Walking, buggy or hiring a driver.
They Amish people are very friendly but somewhat reserved. Some, esp the women, have thick accents. It is not a touristy area. There are other Amish areas in close proximity , but basically the same. (Dayton, Troutville, Punxutawney)