Michigan County Welcomes New Amish Community (3 Things of Note)
A township in Ogenaw County, Michigan is welcoming a new Amish settlement. And by the sound of the report at the Ogemaw County Herald, they are getting quite a warm welcome indeed. Edwards Township Treasurer Ellen Fournier had this to say:
“The township would like to welcome them and we want to make everyone aware that there are a lot of new families out here,” Fournier said. “The township is worried about their safety. There are slow buggies and children walking from school.”
Several interesting details from the report:
1. Barn Raisings
The new community is already on their third barn raising. An Amish group from Pennsylvania had arrived to help out with the barn raising which I believe you see here:
That suggests this community has ties to Pennsylvania, of course. Fournier says there are around eight families, and they expect two to three more.
2. Knocked On Doors To Find Farms
The Amish took an old-fashioned approach to finding places to live:
“They had been driving around for about a month, looking for property,” township supervisor Rob Kowalski said. “They found out who the owners were, and they knocked on doors.”
“They had been driving around” of course means they had hired drivers – aka “Amish taxis” – driving them places.
Township supervisor Rob Kowalski sees a long-lasting implication for his area:
Kowalski is thrilled that these Amish families are settling in the township.
“This is going to be farmland forever now,” Kowalski said. “We’re not going to see solar panels. We’re not going to see any of that. I’m thrilled to know we’re going to keep farming in Edwards Township.”
Kowalski’s comment that they’re “not going to see solar panels” hints at a concern for preserving traditional rural character. That’s apparently important to the area, as also suggested by this interesting detail:
There is a newly-built one-family house on the property where the barn is going up. Edwards Township has an ordinance that requires a residence to be built before outbuildings.
“That’s kind of unique to Edwards Township,” Kowalski said. “We did that so a property wouldn’t just be pole barns.”
All things considered, adding an Amish community will certainly help preserve the traditional rural character of an area.
3. Local Landowners Help With Buggy Safety
Finally, another unusual detail caught my eye. This:
“Most people north of us don’t understand they’re here yet. MDOT won’t allow any signs on M-30,” he said. “The road commission works so well with us, if we need something, they get right on it.”
That struck me as odd – the Michigan Department of Transportation not allowing signage on a certain road.
So the “road commission” Kowalski is referring to here is the Ogemaw County Road commission. And they have done the work to help get awareness out – with an assist from local property owners:
Ogemaw County Road commission has installed buggy caution signs. Local landowners have given permission for signs to be installed on their property.
Good of those individuals to permit the signs in the interest of promoting road safety for their new neighbors.
Michigan already has over 50 Amish communities, but prior to this group’s arrival, no Amish were living in Ogemaw County. Historically, there was one prior Amish community in the county in the early 20th century.
New community
Great to hear of the new community of Amish in Ogemaw Co.
As a former resident of Michigan I have several Amish friends (more like family) in the Charlotte/Vermontville community. I keep trying to talk them into moving to East Tennessee but know the terrain here is not conducive to safe buggy travel.