This question got a lot of interesting responses on the Amish America Facebook page this weekend.
Four years ago, I wrote about my top 5 Amish settlements. Is that post still valid?
Since then, I’ve visited around 20 more communities. But I’d say yes–with maybe one or two changes.
So what’s your favorite Amish community?
For ‘bonus points’, tell us why!
NY Amish photo: las-initially
Similar Posts
Mike Sparks, who gave us a look at the Amish community in Ashland County, OH, returns to share his recent visit to the settlement in Holmes and Wayne Counties. Mike has been visiting and learning about the Amish for over four decades now. I’ll let Mike take it away with a little description of his background and then his photos of the early-July trip. If…
Where will you find the largest Amish communities? Using the latest Young Center figures, here are the 12 largest Amish settlements as of 2017. The numbers you’ll see in parentheses below are: the total estimated population as of June 2017 the number of church districts the year the community was founded I’ve included a bit of info on each and links for further information. Which of…
Lancaster County has very good roads, especially compared to most of Amish America, where gravel (and the occasional dirt) roads prevail. Every now and then you’ll find a sign like the one above, indicating an ‘unimproved’ byway–paved but bumpy, narrow and curvy. Every road I’ve driven with a marker like this has been populated largely by Amish farms, and they are always among the most…
Training for the 2014 Winter Olympics? Looks like this video was recorded in Knox County, Ohio (one county southwest of Holmes County). No SMV triangle, lights or storm front on this buggy. He even gets in a bit of a slalom at the end: Skiing is in fact popular with some Amish (primarily, but not only, youth), as is snowboarding. Lancaster County lies not too…
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86 Comments
www.Amishstorys.com
I might be biased here but id say the Amish settlement in Lebanon county. I’ve been to Ohio and compared to the beauty and large hills of Lancaster Pa i was disappointed. So many settlements and so little time to check-out, i would enjoy visiting a lot more of them. Richard from Penn.
I would have to say Arthur, IL only because that is the only one I have been to except Lancaster, PA when I was very little and really don’t remember enough about it to make a comparison, LOL. But I am partial to the hills in the east and miss that as I grew up in NY state.
Blessings, Alice
I’ve been actively visiting Amish communities for 20 years and
past favorites have been Arthur, Illinois; Daviess County, Indiana;
and Munfordville, Ky. My choices were based mainly on visits
to Amish stores or auctions in those areas and the beauty of their
small, well-kept farms. My current favorite is the Swartzentruber community in Orange County, Indiana. There
are only a couple of small stores there and the community has
no auction, but it is in Orange County where I have really begun
to know Amish families, share snacks or meals in their homes
and have long conversations about farming. Now when I read the weekly letter from their scribe from Paoli in The Budget, I can
share in their joys and concerns because I know many of the people
mentioned in the letter.
favorite Amish community
Lancastor County Pa., (Honey Brook,Paradise, Bird-In_hand). So many towns in that area. Raised in that area makes me partial, but the beauty remains to this day.
About 20 years ago, my husband and I visited Lancaster County, PA … and we loved it there. Purchased many things there which we still cherish.
Last year, the only other Amish community we visited, was Holmes County, Ohio.
This year, we plan again to visit Lancaster County, PA …
20 years separate our visits, so it would be unfair to make a current analysis on these two communities with so long a time spread in between visits.
That said, however, at the time, we enjoyed the many places, shops, restaurants, arts of the Amish in Lancaster County; even (for me) shy verbal exchanges with an Amish sales girl here and there (I wasn’t sure I would be allowed to talk to them, or them to me).
Last year, in Holmes County, my soul rejoiced, and I mean rejoiced, in supping in the home of an old-order Amish Bishop and his wife, and the next day, being the guests in the homes of five Amish women and their families (old order). All of this was arranged through a two-day excursion through a tourist group. We paid a lot to do this – but the reason we went to Holmes County was to do the these very things the average tourist does not have the opportunity to do, i.e, get really close to the Amish to talk with them, share stories, visit homes and sit around family tables with them.
I walked away loving the Amish more than ever, think so very often of the ones we met and spent time with – a most amazing visit.
SO … for now … I vote for Holmes County Amish Community.
Blessings,
Mary
I’ve lived in several communities, including Holmes, Lancaster (although in the Mennonite part of the county), Berne IN, and Montana, and visited in many others.
For natural beauty, Rexford/Libby MT would be hard to beat. But Amish in log homes not to mention they rarely use their buggies)?? Doesnt seem Amishy. 🙂
Sorry Lancaster County, I like Holmes better, the south end, where the community pushes over into Coshocton County. Here on the early morning when the sun is pushing up, the quietness and beauty are great.
Lancaster is too commercialized/business-oriented.
Ok, that’s the why. Now the reward for the bonus points. A free book?
🙂
Mike
www.Amishstorys.com
I heard something about a book give-away so I’m back In action. “If push came to shove” i would have to in the end pick Lancaster county over Lebanon county. The reason for me is one word ” childhood memories”. There is no place for me that invokes the great times like Lancaster, its a feeling that I’ve had since i was 6 years old. Its the main reason for me to have finally moved to this area, and its the inspiration for me to have started a Amish themed blog. I even started a side business selling Amish made items because of Lancaster. So Erik i hope your taking notes, and ill e-mail you with my address when your ready to send that book or tickets to something to my home. Any comments that I’ve ever posted have been extremely positive when it came to Lancaster, the post history will prove it. Now i rest me case. Richard from very close to my beloved Lancaster county.
Hands down, the back roads of Lancaster County. I grew up in Maryland and every summer we’d make a day trip there. Have seen the “progress” on Route 30 and unfortunately it has diminished the beauty, strip shopping areas, hotels consuming what was once some of the most beautiful farmland in the United States. However, cruise those byways and the beauty remains. My husband and I plan on retiring to that area in about 10 years. I must also say that I am partial to the Amish communities in St. Mary’s County, MD, closer to where I grew up. Beautiful farms, lacks commercialization.
Guess I’d have to say Holmes CO as well, mostly b/c it is a bit less touristy and because I remember Holmes Co and Lancaster areas more than other Amish area. I grew up traveling back and forth from NE to visit relatives in IL and Indiana going through and visiting many Amish communities each trip: IL, IN, OH, KY, PA, NY… I haven’t been back as an adult, other than several visit to a monastery in Lancaster and friends in Lititz & Mount Joy.
Lancaster CO is beautiful, but the tourist industry is too much for me to enjoy the real beauty. I also wonder if the Amish in Lancaster are more reserved toward visitors due to so many tourists – would make sense.
Looks like I need to make some road trips!!
Guess I’d have to say Holmes CO as well, mostly b/c it is a bit less touristy and because I remember Holmes Co and Lancaster areas more than other Amish area. I grew up traveling back and forth from NE to visit relatives in IL and Indiana going through and visiting many Amish communities each trip: IL, IN, OH, KY, PA, NY… I haven’t been back as an adult, other than several visit to a monastery in Lancaster and friends in Lititz & Mount Joy.
Lancaster CO is beautiful, but the tourist industry is too much for me to enjoy the real beauty. I also wonder if the Amish in Lancaster are more reserved toward visitors due to so many tourists – would make sense.
Blessings on your day!
Christine
Looks like I need to make some road trips!!
Sorry for the double post – I wasn’t finished, hit the wrong key – did not realize it posted twice!
A free book?
A free book? Where did that come from?? I must have been half asleep when reading this cause I did not see a thing about a free book. Must still be half asleep cause I still don’t see it but Erik if there is a free book involved count me in, LOL.
Even though I have not been to a lot of Amish communities I do like Arthur. I like the people and the shops both downtown and out in the country. One of my favorites is Beachy’s bulk foods. Especially when I am baking a lot. You can not beat the prices on their whole grains and baking supplies.
We dodge the bullet last night with the tornadoes, under warnings a few times,,,, but my prayers go out to all the folks in Joplin, MO who were hit very hard, many lives lost.
Off to the VA with Frank this morning then going to try to get the lawn mowed before the next night of storms hits. Have a blessed day everyone!!
Blessings, Alice
Favorite Amish Places
If you want an Amish settlement that’s not “touristy”, come to NE Iowa. Hazelton (Buchanan County) and Edgewood (Clayton County) are dotted with homes and farms, many with retail shops. No neon signs, no tour groups, relatively unknown – just Amish folks living their lives. And the scenery up here is awesome!
The free book idea came from me. 🙂 I was just suggesting that to prod Erik a little. 🙂 He said about “bonus points” so why not add points and give the winner a free book. 🙂
LOL good idea Primitive!!! I really thought I had missed something though. Needing toothpicks to keep my eyes open this morning, no sleep last night with the storms here and upset animals.
Have a good one!!
Unfortunitly I have not got to visit any Amish or Minnonite communities. I would love to thou. I have read and researched a lot of them, and some day I will go visit as much as I can. There was a community in the town I just moved from, but never got to get out and visit and learn more. They have a few stores and I loved to go into them.
Robin
Joplin, MO
Alice, my friend and her husband were victims of the Joplin tornadoes – I just found out this morning they had passed. They had just returned on Saturday from an anniversary trip. Holding all those in the Joplin area very near in heart and prayer. RIP+
Joplin, MO
Christine, I am so very sorry to hear that. Praying for your comfort in this time. It is not easy to lose friends especially in such a way. (((HUGS))) to you Christine.
favorite community
Christine,
So, so, so sorry. The pictures on tv are as bad as any I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to know just what to say; my heart goes out to ALL in that town.
I’ve visited 3 communities in the past 20 years. The first was Intercourse, Pa. with my husband. I thought it was so beautiful I told him that even though we had seen some beautiful sights on our honeymoon cruise to four islands, I thought that Pa. was the loveliest. We stayed in a B&B (our first)–which was for sale. I wanted to buy it, move there and live in that house and run that B&B! My husbands health really made it an impossibility–and he said that after the first winter there, I’d be ready to go home!
A few years later we went to Marion/Matoon Kentucky. The settlement was in it’s growing stages, sure there is more there now. I do remember my husband wanting to go to an amish home with a greenhouse to buy mums to bring back home to plant. As we all got into the greenhouse (us, and his wife, children) a storm started so we had to spend the next hour or so visiting and talking. I remember the amish man saying “We always say if you don’t like our weather, hang around, it will change!”
We spent a week with cousins in Argos, Indiana, using their home as a base, and went all around Nappanee, Shipshewanna(sp)etc. Good memories.
But, we always went back to Lancaster. I find something there I have found nowhere else. It is a balm to my soul. At a farm B&B we stayed with an elderly couple and developed a relationship. Her husband passed away, she moved off the farm and no longer did the b&b, but always welcomes me back as family. She is the grandmother I never had. Her entire family has taken me in, so I always have “family to visit” when I go there. God has given me a wonderful place to go when I can get away, a soothing place with adopted family, the wonderful horses, the farms, the little amish boys in those cute hats, the craft places on the farms, the rolling hills….It’s the only place that has ever made me consider moving from my beloved SC.
No book this time, but I can’t blame you for trying Mike!
And really sorry to hear about the tornadoes, what a disaster. It seems like quite a tornado-filled spring this year.
I had heard of the bad weather, but didn’t hear anymore after that! Oh, my, what a terrible year so far for weather and disasters! Christine, I am so sorry to hear you lost friends. It is heartbreaking to lose someone that suddenly. My prayers are with you, their family and the community.
I love small Amish settlements, just a few families getting started. There are a few in Maine. I have spent the most time lately in St. Jacobs, though, which is Old Order Mennonite, and the best farmers’ market in Canada.
favorite communities
I have to say, they are all the small ones surrounding us here in Bruce/Grey Counties in Ontario,Canada…not too many stores of their own, but really love to visit the ones that are theirs..the people are so friendly and helpful..we are friends with some of them..
yes, Magdalena, St. Jacobs is a great spot to visit..the farmers market the best there, the smaller ones around are nice too..
Thank you...
…for the kind words and prayer. It has been a shocking tornado season, even here in NC.
Loretta, what a lovely experience for you in Lancaster. I can understand why it holds a special place in your heart. Lancaster is especially beautiful. It never ceases to amaze me how God cares for us.
Love & Blessings,
Christine
p.s. Some years ago when the Lancaster Monastery roof collapsed, the Amish came to the rescue of the nuns (cloistered) and put up a new roof for them!
Marion Ky!! The Rural Amish community is wonderful!! You REALLY don’t need Walmart!!!! With the nice Amish Stores!!
Marion Ky! You really don’t Walmart With the Nice rural Amish Stores!!!
Rollin Hills
Did u ever drive thru Kalona, Iowa . rollin hills or just look at the wonderful fields of corn
Kalona
Kalona is a lovely community. Very nice terrain. And a lot of nice people there.
Shipshewana
I love the northern Indiana Amish communities. I have a cousin living in Elkhart, so I get to visit once or twice a year. Just returned from a wedding there yesterday.
I love the Shipshewana, Nappanee, Topeka, Wakarusa areas. I’m a quilter and there are so many wonderful Amish owned quilt fabric shops there.
I love going to Amish or Mennonite owned restaurants because the food is absolutely delicious and the restaurants are very clean.
Second in my heart is the southern Indiana area around Loogootee, IN. I’ve had an Amish man build cabinets for my entire house before. Loved working with him. Also love going to quilt auctions for the Amish benefit at Cannelburg, IN on Labor Day every year. Wonderful workmanship and as always fantastic food is available for purchase.
I’ve been to the Marion, KY area, but it was on Sunday, so there wasn’t much going on. We’ll have to go back during a weekday sometime.
I’ve been to the Old Order Mennonite community around St. Jacob’s, ON and I recently visited the Pawnee County, NE settlement. On my way home from Nebraska to Chicago I really wanted to visit Kalona but I had driven through some ugly storms that were seemingly following me home so no stop there 🙁
I’ve been planning a trip this summer to Napponee/Shipshewana with a friend, hopefully we can work it out with my crazy marathon training schedule.
I did see there was an Amish Country Half Marathon in Lancaster…that gets me thinking I could combine two things I enjoy quite easily 😉
http://www.usrahm.com/Events/amish.htm
Karen, did you know how to correctly pronounce “Loogootee” before you went there? 🙂
And what is with Indiana having all these hard to spell Amish destinations…Shipshe…Nappawhoozit? 🙂
Lindsay, too bad you missed Kalona, but you get respect for the marathon. I have run a couple. Not easy, but really worth it, in my experience. I would go for the Lancaster Half Marathon!
Rexford, Montana, and St Ignatius, Montana are the most beautiful Amish communities, as far as scenery in concerned. Surrounded with the majestic Rocky Mountains, it is breathtaking! I have visited many other communities and some of them are more ‘shopper’ friendly then these 2 places. “Montana Woodworks”,at Rexford, MT. does have a website where they advertise their beautiful log furniture they make. The logs used are all peeled with hand held draw-knifes.
Lancaster County
My vote goes to Lancaster County and all the surrounding areas which hold Amish communities, as I have visited for twenty-five years now. Although we have seen many commercial changes, there is nothing like waking up to the sound of buggy wheels and the beautiful morning fog. The farmlands are tucked away and make for a beautiful drive. The sight of an Amish church morning or an Amish mud sale, or even better a giant garage sale with fifty buggies are a sight to behold. We have found the most lovely old farmhouse that we stay in about five times a year, which makes it feel like our home away from home. For some reason the quiet life of the Amish makes all the commercial mess out on Rt 30 fade away. Of course, not traveling out there during rush hour helps a great deal as well.
www.Amishstorys.com
I think picking your favorite Amish community might be a little like choosing your favorite jelly bean, all of them will taste very good with each color being unique. I’m not sure where I’m going with this Jelly bean comparison, but i think you get the idea. I don’t have to travel somewhere to know if its a beautiful place to visit, images will help me out in that area.So i believe everyone on this post who expressed their favorite place, you are “all right” because each place is special to you, just as i have my favorite which is a very sentimental place to me being Lancaster. So there are no losers here, with our special memories of these places “we are all winners”. Richard from Lebanon county’s Amish community.
I’d have to vote for Holmes County, Ohio as my favorite Amish place. I have been to the Shipshewana area a couple times and it’s nice and growing up in NY state, we’d go to Lancaster for a long weekend once in a while but it wasn’t so commercial back then. To me, it’s very peaceful in the Holmes County area.
Alice, where in NY state did you grow up? I am from the south central area near Binghamton.
Holmes county
My favorite Amish communities are in Holmes/Wayne Counties Ohio. If you get off the main roads, there is a sense of going back in time…miles and miles of roads with no utility poles, barns built within a few feet of the unpaved roads, the spectacle of nature mixed with Amish farms. I have been to Lancaster County, Pa. several times, and the area is just too built up and touristy for my taste. My second favorite Amish community is the Swartzentruber settlement right here in Oswego County, NY. because it is readily accessible. I like to buy bread and other baked goods from the Amish ladies and visit with the men a bit when they are not too busy.
Ethridge, Tennessee
My favorite Amish settlement is in Ethridge, TN. Here in Ethridge, TN we have one of the South’s largest old order settlements of Amish. Beautiful large farms and rolling hills. The folks here are very friendly and kind. There are no Amish stores. They sell everything from their homes. If you’ve never visited us before you really should. There are over 250 Old Order Amish families here. I think Erik came here a few years ago.
You’re right, Diann, I did. And something tells me you’re going to like tomorrow’s post! 😉
Erik, I had heard Loogootee before I ever saw it in print! Took me a few secs to figure out it was one and the same. If people get off the major highways and just drive through the countryside, the farms/gardens are just beautiful.
I love to shop at bulk food stores for great homemade items. Also love to see any type of handmade item, i.e. furniture, outdoor chairs and swings, cabinets, bedroom furniture, etc. I have a gorgeous Amish made cherry rocking chair I bought when my grandson was born. Bought one for his mom and dad as well.
Plus, one of my favorite Amish quilt shops is in the Loogootee/Montgomery area; Wagler’s Quilt Shop. We bought a cherry quilt rack from him a year or two ago. Amazing gentleman and his wife own the shop and conduct the quilt auction at Cannelburg every Labor Day.
1st things first; Christine, So terribly sorry to hear about your friends in Joplin. How long had they been married? Did they leave any children that we should be praying for? May the Lord have mercy on their souls.
I am wanting to relocate to NE Oklahoma, partially to be near the Joplin / SW Missouri area just because I like it. Must be honest, the Amish community in that part of the state is a draw to me as well. Wish I were there now so I could go help with the recovery. The mid-south has been just ravaged by tornados and other severe weather this year. Prayers for all.
My favorite Amish communities
I reallty love Lancaster Pa. The Amish are friendly and are hard working people. Iam impressed how they keep family first and they take care of their grandparents. The next Amish community i like is in Ohio
favorite amish area
We have been travelling to amish areas since about 1993. I would say my favorite is Holmes County Ohio and the surround areas. I just love the rolling hills the beautiful countryside. I find the farmlands to be immaculate. (was there for Easter 2011) I have been to Shipshewana/Nappanee areas many time (going in aug 2011) and it to is lovely. We live in Windsor Ontario Canada and the Old Order Menonnite settlement in St. Jacobs, Ontario is about 3 hours away, (was there in Elmira for the Maple syrup festival in April 2011) but my heart always goes back to Holmes County which is about 4 1/2-5 hours. Once I hit the area, it really is like coming home. I usually stay about 4-7 days so that I can travel the backroads, and just have fun. Of course the food, is great and stopping for all the amish meals is a treat. I love the bulk food stores, flea markets, everything. Take a trip, you won’t be sorry. marie b
Thank you, Kat
My friends had just arrived home on Saturday from their 15th wedding anniversary trip. They do not have children from this marriage – both were previously widowed. They do both have college age children – but I have not heard anything about the boys, other than they had not yet returned from college for the summer.
Please do remember their families in prayer. Lorie’s parents are still living and I can attest, as a bereaved parent myself, that it does not matter how old your child is when they pass – it will change their lives forever and peace, and one day joy again, will only be found in their Faith.
Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and prayer.
Blessings and love,
Christine
My apologies to all for interrupting the wonderful discussion of favorite Amish Communities.
I like the Holmes County area. I grew up in Indiana (lived there for 32 years) and never made it to officially visit an Amish area in IN. I had to go out of state! I have driven through smaller settlements in IN, probably without realizing. And I have been to Lancaster, PA and the New Wilmington, Volant and Enon Valley areas of PA.
I don’t live close enough to any of the communities being mentioned to have even visited any of them more than just driving through or maybe stopping to buy some pastries or produce etc., with the exception of the New Wilmington, Pa community. I had a chance to visit it in the Spring of 1983 for a couple of days and it was really nice. I met a harness maker named Byler and corresponded with him for quite a few years. He is probably retired now.
I also met his brother-in-law, a Mr. Raber. He was a farmer and had some beautiful Percheron horses. When he found out that I was a fan of the breed he got every horse out of his barn and talked about each; what they could do, how he used them, how old they were etc. He had a very rare sorrel colored Percheron foal that was only days old. It was one of only three sorrel Percherons I have ever seen and the only one I have seen in person. Before we left asked if we had ever been inside “one of our people’s houses”. When we said we had not, he gave us a little tour. Best I can describe it is; clean, functional and very Norman Rockwell-ish.
So I guess based on the lack of exposure to any other communities New Wilmington, Pa is my favorite. Like Richard said, there is no “right” answer. I am sure each has its own charm in one way or another and is “special” to each visitor in one way or another. Hope to visit more of them within the next few years, so I can have more than one “favorite”.
Snyder County
My favorite Amish community is in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. I spent my first few years of life living next doors to a family, until they moved to Mexico (I think that was their answer to the draft). Still, to this day, you have Amish folks showing their wares along Rt. 11-15, and if you drive back any of the roads, like Rt. 114, you will see a lot of farms. Then, there is Pike Mennonite, in Lancaster Co, who you might say are ‘church’ Amish, and still drive buggies. I still have relatives who attend there.
Erik – perhaps putting together an Amish Half Marathon team to raise money for a charity is something to look into someday. It would be fun and helping a great cause!
Christine – I’m saddened to hear about your friends. I have a lot of extended family in that part of the country, and my heart goes out to everyone down there.
As am I Christine–I guess I misread and didn’t realize your friends had lost their lives. Lot of folks did, it looks like. I’m sure there will be a lot of prayers, and helping hands, for that part of the country.
I will always be partial to Lancaster County, PA, and when I take early retirement soon we’re hoping to find a place to spend half of our time there. Otherwise, our second favorite so far is the Holmes/Wayne County areas in Ohio, although we’re certainly not done exploring all the different Amish communities in our country, so this opinion could possibly change!
Christine, I’m so very sorry to hear of the loss of your friends, and for everyone’s terrible losses in the wake of these disastrous tornadoes and floods. Let us all pray and try to help in whatever ways we can.
Parke County
I grew up near the Amish community in Steuben County, Indiana. I do not remember there being any Amish shops there. I now live near the Amish community in Parke County, Indiana. There are lots of Amish shops and the people are very friendly and outgoing. My favorite Amish community is the one in Parke County, Indiana.
So many wonderful communities, it is difficult to choose. I much prefer the smaller, less known communities. Areas that sell “Chinese made Amish junk” are turnoffs to me. I’m looking for authenticity :-).
Milroy Indiana is beautiful, as is the tiny settlement of Calais, OH. As James mentioned, I also enjoy Parke County (make sure you get to go to the covered bridge festival and Billie Creek Village if you can – its worth the trip) as well as the Wayne County community on the eastern border of the state. Both of these communities are transplants from Lancaster, and have some different ways than the more established Indiana communities. Berne Indiana is also special Swiss Amish settlement with a number of interesting stores including a bakery and bookstore.