Inside A Southern Indiana Swiss Amish Home (22 Photos)
Here’s a home from the Amish community in Vevay, down in southern Indiana on the Kentucky border. There are actually two Amish settlements in the vicinity of Vevay, but this is the Swiss Amish one.
Swiss Amish can vary in how conservative they are, with some that are very plain, and some that don’t appear that plain at all, but retain plain elements like outhouses. The home is listed as having one bathroom, but I’m not sure that’s accurate. I believe that’s a rather sizeable outhouse on the right side of this photo:
The description:
Must see this 3,176 sq ft finished area to enjoy. Has 6 bedrooms, large family room, large kitchen, large summer kitchen, kids play area upstairs, large office, or extra bedroom, storage, etc. w/ laundry room building outside. Has 3 large barns w/ it. One has a furniture business shop and storage and work shop. The other two for all your farm equipment, Animals, and several different work shops, one barn has several stalls in it and the front part has concrete floors – both barns are for animals and tobacco hanging, etc.
It’s a very neat and new-looking property.
Let’s have a look inside!
You can immediately see why this group gets called “Plain” when you look at the floors. They appear to be coated with something like linseed oil, as is common in plain Amish groups.
I like this shot where we can see the circular clothes hanger in the foreground. I count eight seats here. Also note the bed in this main living area, which is another thing you see especially in the plainer groups.
Same room from the opposite angle. The flooring reminds me of something you’d see in a furniture workshop, but this is what it’s like. Overall the home has a very neat and clean appearance. Check out the two pots sitting on the woodstove. Maybe that’s the day’s lunch.
Now to the kitchen and eating area.
You’ll notice there is no sink with running water in this kitchen space. Sometimes the materially plainer Amish places like this will still have a cold water source, though not the regular plumbing.
Amish in these cases will use large water coolers like the one you see here positioned by a sink basin. I think we’ve also found the water source for this home. Note the red pump in the foreground which probably brings up well water.
Another view of the same room. We see an open closet. Kerosene stove on the right.
As is often the case in these types of Amish homes, the bedrooms have a more unfinished appearance than the living areas or kitchen. From a financial standpoint, you finish the more “public” rooms of the home first.
This room, which is probably the parents’ (typically on the ground floor), does have a more completed look.
One of the more common misconceptions about Amish homes is that they don’t have curtains. But you can see dozens of examples of homes that we’ve covered here over the years proving that’s not the case.
I think this myth was spun from the notion that the cover of curtains might encourage sinful behavior, or some nonsense like that.
Another angle of the same room, showing two essentials found in many Amish parents’ rooms: 1) crib and 2) gun rack.
Down in the basement, we see an assortment of canned goods, and coolers. I’m guessing the large one on the left is where they store the bulk of their ice.
Outside, we see the place has a nice pond on its 6+ acres.
This being Indiana, of course there is a basketball hoop outside the barn.
Inside the furniture workshop – one of several additional structures on this property. Nice-looking furniture.
Swiss Amish as a rule use only open buggies.
I couldn’t pass on sharing this shot.
Overall an interesting, neat, plain Amish home. I enjoyed this one (hat-tip to reader Seth for passing it along). It will take some money and work to “Englishize” it. But overall a very nice place. So what’s the price of this property?
This home is up for sale at $367,000, listed by Vernon Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty. View more Amish homes here.
Oh yes! So typical!
My best friend, so used to live near me, was an early settled of the first Swiss Amish settlement in Switzerland C, the county seat being Vevay. We eventually bought a place t vacation there and have been in many of their homes. The one you featured is so absolutely typical! One thing I will note is the pump inside to probably is connected to a cistern. The whole area has thick layer of limestone at Creek level. Ordinary well drilling is impossible almost everywhere. The Amish I visited had “city water” even for their cattle! Water lines run along most roads. you will note watertowers belonging to companies throughout this rural area.
As to the fact that the Swiss have some unusual customs, I used to ask a lot of why questions. Miriam would give me a bank look and say, “The Swiss never do.” And that was that!
Open buggies
The notion that “Swiss Amish as a rule use only open buggies” is simply not true anymore, especially in the Allen county, IN community. The top buggy is actually more common there at this point. Most families own both still but rarely use the open buggy except on Sundays when the weather is nice (and not necessarily even then).
Very interesting. I wrote that comment having in mind exceptions to “the rule” (but without going into it given the topic of the post) – like this one in Adams County from 2012, with at least some having covered top buggies: https://amishamerica.com/what-is-this-buggy-doing-in-adams-county-indiana/
However this (dominant?) shift to top buggies in Allen County you describe has been totally off my radar.
It’s been some years since I’ve been there, and I haven’t seen any photo evidence in recent years showing that (although Allen County does not get a lot of attention in general so that’s maybe not too surprising).
I am aware of the “kid box” in that community, but your saying that the majority of Amish in Allen County now uses the conventional top buggies surprises me (I assume you don’t mean this: https://amishamerica.com/kid-box/).
If that’s the case it must have been a fairly recent and rapid change. Though, there is fairly recent precedent of something similar (Daviess County, IN in early 1990s)…and maybe what I call “kid box” (enclosed child cab) was the gateway to top buggies becoming acceptable.
Hi Erik,
Yes, it’s been quite a recent shift; I’d say probably in the last 10 years, no more than 20. And, no, I’m not referring to the ones with the kid box, those are actually pretty rare these days in Allen county. You see top buggies more than kid boxes. From what I’ve heard from the people I drive for, it’s simply a matter of comfort and convenience that has given the top buggy its popularity over the open buggy. As a side note, you’d think the younger generation would be the ones mostly responsibly for pushing the change but that’s not necessarily the case; many older people also prefer the top buggy for the reasons I mentioned. Though I’d say when you see an open buggy, it is more likely to be an older person because they probably have a little more conservative/traditional mindset.
Now, in Adams county, the open buggy is indeed still much more popular. But there are some top buggies there as well. The Amish in Adams are quite a bit more conservative than those in Allen county these days. Just driving through each community you can see plenty of signs of that.
Thanks Mike, all very interesting. And now I surprised myself thinking I must have been in Allen County maybe 5-7 years ago at most. Looking back it looks like my last visit was around 2011 (unless I’m forgetting one that came later, but I don’t think so). Time flies! Btw if you happen to have any photos of the buggies, I’d be curious to see them, if not no worries.
I asked an Amish guy more about the timeframe and he said it’s only been more like 5 or so years since they became allowed and more popular. I was thinking it was longer than that so that’s my mistake.
He also said probably about 80% of people in Allen county now have a top buggy.
Thanks Mike, very interesting. It’s funny but I just came across this follow-up post from 2013, sharing two photos from a local reader of large enclosed boxes on two Allen County buggies. I’d forgotten about this. https://amishamerica.com/kid-box-on-steroids/
One even clearly shows an enclosed box with adults riding inside of it. It sits quite low from what I can tell. https://amishamerica.com/images/adams-county-amish-carriage-box.jpg
Is this the design you are seeing in Allen County now, or is it more like the conventional buggy type you’d see in northern Indiana, or Ohio?
I also added an update to that post with your comments.
Flue pipe
No comment on the flue pipe next to the bed. Great in winter but is it a burn hazard?
Flooring
The flooring in main living area is 4×8 sheets of plywood . They are definitely keeping it plain .
SEEKING: Amish with Swiss Roots
I am a journalist for Swiss National Public television (RTS), currently working on a documentary about the Swiss roots and genealogy of Anabaptist communities, with a focus on the Amish communities’ connections to Switzerland. As the son of a Swiss pastor, I am deeply interested in understanding the history of the Anabaptist faith and the values that the Amish communities have preserved to this day.
I am seeking to speak with members of the Amish community (past or present) who have information, stories, or questions about their Swiss heritage and are interested in exploring it further. If this describes you or someone you know, please contact me via email voice message or you can send me a text message.
Note: I understand that most Amish families do not permit cameras, and I assure you that I will respect your preferences regarding filming or recording if you choose to share your story with me.
God bless you,
Tristan Miquel
tristan.miquelpro@gmail.com
+41796874923 (this is a swiss number)