Trip to the Amish Country

Are you going to PA or OH? I loved my trip to Holmes County Ohio a few years ago.

Hi Mary,

I have no clue - do you know what the pros & cons are for either place?

There is the Lancaster PA area.... Holmes County, OH and Shipshewana IN -- all 3 are great Amish areas.

Lancaster is probably the largest -- Holmes County has some great quilt shops (Helping Hands Quilt Shop is nice...) Shipshewana -- everything is close -- nearly walking distance... My favorite shops are Lolly's & Yoders

Our guild does a fall retreat to Holmes County... and a spring retreat to Shipshewana... and a good time is had by all!

Thanks Kate. Gee! They all sound good - decisions, decisions!! I don't know how many in my group will want to travel - so far 3 are committed, but I would expect the group would be about 6 - 8.

Pauline Northern California

I just went to Lancaster, PA in early December. This was my 3rd or

4th trip but didn't have a lot of time so I didn't "do" the quilt museums. As for sh> I belong to a couple of small groups & I was talking to one of the

On Feb 17, 6:18=A0pm, "Pauline" wrote:

The largest extant Amish Settlement in America is in Holmes County, Ohio. More than Lancaster Penn, or Iowa. Berlin (Pronounced Berlyn, not Berlin as in Germany) is the center of The Amish community, with lots of shops, and lodging. I often see Tour Busses, going through there, but as I live in an adjoining county and drive there by car. I have not checked into the tours offered. There are plenty of sights to see, and a few of them are; Leaman's Hardware in Kidron Ohio, a small crossroads town. There is a livestock auction there also which is held on thursday's and should not be missed. The local Amish community is very livestock dependent, and use this venue to sustain their lifestyle. The tour busses are stacked up 10 deep to visit this Hardware Store and Auction as it offers all the goods to the Amish community and us regular folks, that allow one to live off the grid, or at least more simply, and in a manner that is decidedly 19th century. They have stuff for sale that you didn't realize was still made. Another thing to visit, is an Amish life history center called "Behault". It chronicles the history of the Amish experience from it's beginning, in Switzerland, to the present, in a gigantic mural that is in a large circular display area. Traveling around the area is a time warp of views of a 19th century existence, in a rolling countryside with Horse drawn buggies, and trim well kept farms that are picture perfect, in their appearance. Yes, there are lots of quilt shops and other places to drop you money off, and you can even buy Amish Quilts from some of the farm houses, but Never on Sunday. I have been to Lancaster and it is fun, but the Holmes county Amish experience is a little less touristy and more, "Amish". Don't worry though, there are plenty of tourists in Holmes, County, so you won't be mugged by an Amish gang member, is such a thing exists.:>)

John

Or Indiana!

--pig

There are small Amish settlements in Iowa, but the Amana colonies are not Amish, despite the similar sounding names. The people who settled the Amana colonies lived in community -- all property was held jointly. You can read their history at Also more about the modern colonies at I've been to the Amana colonies and don't remember seeing a lot of quilting.

The Amish settlements in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are fairly small and would probably not be worth traveling far to visit. There are no Amish shops that I am aware of. The people are mainly agricultural. They do a lot of quilting and woodworking. In general, they do nice work, but no nicer than a lot of other quilters. It has always bugged me a bit that an Amish-made quilt is considered to be worth more than one made by someone else.

Julia > I have also been through the Amish area of Iowa which is called the

I think my friends and I spent 2 hours in Lehman's

Same with Miller's Dry Goods in Charm. I heard that sold but I'm sure it's still a must for quilter's. There were other shops we visited but I don't remember the names. One was basement and 2 floors of an old house and another was in what appeared to be old poultry houses (that one moved). This is one site that lists tours etc.

It's true that the Amana Colonies (there are seven of them total) are not Amish, but they do have a wonderful quilt shop in Main Amana and IIRC, a smaller one with quilts for sale in South Amana.

Kalona is a wonderful place to visit - a couple of quilt shops and the Woodin Wheel, which was featured on an episode of Simply Quilts, where they have antiques and quilts for sale. Then, there's the bakery and Stringtown, and the cheese factory and the P Buckley Moss shop. Oh, I think I'd better plan a weekend trip before long!

Howdy!

Ill> Or Indiana!

Thanks for the proper info Julia. When I was there (maybe 20 years ago) I knew very little about the Amish. All I remember is my dad telling me the Amana Colonies were originally settled by the Amish. I know Kolona had a number of Amish and Mennonite living in the area. I saw them in town shopping and driving their buggies around from place to place. I don't remember any "Amish" shops nor do I remember seeing much of anything to do with quilting except for shops selling fabric. It was a lovely place to visit and drive around in but that's about it. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I still have lots of family living in the Sioux City area and a number of friends who live in Des Moines. It's been so long since I was up there, I might have to talk DH into another trip! Sounds like there are a lot more quilting related "sights" than when I was there 20 years ago! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

i must be thinking differently than the rest of the world. Berlyn and Berlin both sound the same to me. is there anyway to clarify the difference? j.

"John" wrote... The largest extant Amish Settlement in America is in Holmes County, Ohio. More than Lancaster Penn, or Iowa. Berlin (Pronounced Berlyn, not Berlin as in Germany)

Ber- LIN vs BURRRRR-- len

Does that help?

an

Come on down! We're right on the corner, and right on the price. and we'll give you a chicken for checkin! Seriously, if you would like to stop by if you are in the area, we would love to meet up and maybe even take a drive up to Amish country, and show you around.

John

The accent is on the Ber part of the name as opposed to the lin of the German. I think this is a type of thing that is often done here in Ohio. There are some screamingly funny pronunciations of Ohio places like; Bellefontaine, pronounced Bellfountain. The french explorers are turning over in their graves.

John

Yes, we pronounce Berlin (Germany) as Berlyn here too - must be another of those different pronunciations, like tomatoes.

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

jeanne-nzlstar* wrote:

Julia is right on the money. Amana isn't Amish....it's a German community. Kalona is a community near me where many of the Amish/Mennonites have settled over the years.