Amish Areas in Ohio (Dayton, Grove City: how much, new home, buying)

[bophisto]

I will be visiting Ohio Amish Country next week, but I am trying to figure out what areas to check out. We will be staying in Pittsburgh and then just doing one day in Ohio Amish Country .

If you one just has one day to visit what area should someone focus on? I've been trying to look online , but can't find a ton of info. It seems like everything we are finding is spread out. Is there kind of a main town area with several walkable areas?..

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[JR_C]

There isn't a single "Amish Country" in Ohio. There are multiple communities. Amish Country locations in Ohio? Look no further!

The largest community--and I think the most tourist oriented--area is in Holmes county.

[TheYO]

Holmes County for sure. I had a couple good friends in college who grew up there, and they always talked about how many Amish people there were in the area, and how much German was spoken.

[ZnGuy]

My sister lives in Millersburg and her husband is CPA to the Amish. Holmes County has more Amish than anywhere in US. You can hit the main areas pretty easy (Sugar creek, Walnut Creek, Berlin, Millersburg) as it is only a 30 mile strip on Rt. 39 just west of I-77 (from the Dover area).

[bophisto]

Thank you for the feedback. Millersburg in Holmes County looks like it has a shopping area. Would it be likely to see/interact with Amish in most of Millersburg? On the sites such as the one listed below, it seems like most shops say they sell Amish goods, but are these stores typically owned by the Amish as well? Or do they purchase Amish made good from the Amish and resell in their shops?

It sounds like we should focus on Holmes county any suggestions for a particular area , like a particular shop/site/attraction within Holmes County? Since we will only have a short amount of time.

Also we are planning on going on a Thursday would most places be open during the week?

Looking forward to visiting

Thank you!

[SorryIMovedBack]

The furniture in "Amish Ohio," for the most part, appears to be made from mass-produced kits and is only assembled by the Amish. There are exceptions but most of what I saw was pretty much identical to what Oak Express stores were selling at the time, haha.

If you are staying in the Pittsburgh area for a while, Smicksburg, PA has Amish and also artisans, small shops, and a winery. Smicksburg Home

New Wilmington, PA also has Amish. Amish Countryside > Local Attractions in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania - Tourism Promotion Agency and there is a Price Outlets retail outlet shopping complex in Grove City.

[Lily55]

If you are only going to be there one day, go to Berlin, OH. It's in the heart of Amish country.

Visit the Behalt Amish and Mennonite Center. You can watch a movie about the Amish. Then you can take a guided tour of a 265 foot circular mural, depicting the history of the Amish.

There are tons of shops in Berlin! Just walk up and down the streets of Berlin. Tis the Season is a huge year-round Christmas shop! It is just on the edge of town.

Heini Cheese Shop gives a little tour of their cheese making factory. Then you can shop for cheese, which is in refrigerated case - with little samples set out so you can taste it before buying.

The Farmstead Restaurant is pretty good! The Der Dutchman Restaurant is fabulous! But, it is located a little farther away in Walnut Creek. Their buffet is worth the drive though!

Check - www.visitamishcountry.com

[RememberMee]

One thing for sure - don't look for Amish in NW Ohio, it doesn't look like they live there at all, NE Ohio is more or less Amish free, SE Ohio doesn't have noticeable Amish presence either. SW Ohio, well, I didn't see Amish people there. Central Ohio - Holmes, Morrow, Ashland, Wayne counties, that's where you have the highest chances to stumble upon a buggy. Amish people don't live in villages and communes (go to Montana and see Hutterites for that), they embraced rural sprawl the rest of rural Americans live so you'll have to drive around to see real Amish dwellings, things you can see in a few seconds it takes to drive by. "Amish" is not a copyright protected brand so businesses having little or nothing in common with Amish people try to capitalize on that name. Keep that in mind.

Real Amish live in rural sprawls, belong to different religious sects (at odds with each other) and there is no uniform acceptance/denial of technology. Technologies and services some sects accept are not accepted by others. I've seen Amish horses pulling a modern (all bells and whistles) herbicide sprayer. I don't get impression that Amish (on the average) are into agriculture a lot, it's rather a chore they prefer to avoid. Many dwellings have no gardens whatsoever not speaking of fruit trees, many more Amish fields are exhausted, eroded and painful to look at. So don't expect to find Amish Eco paradise in central Ohio. Maybe you'll get lucky to see an Amish family walking into a temple of McDonald's, just watch those eyes burning with anticipation and desire the rest of McD customers lack, it's truly refreshing.

Warning, Amish people do marry their cousins and combined with their lifestyle that have rather negative effect on their mental agility and, sometimes, their physical appearance. To summarize, Amish are what they are. They are not hippie eco paradise with a religious twist in touch with Mother Earth etc.. Yet, they do have real communities (that "English" don't have), unfortunately, there is no way for you to experience that.

[CountryGirl1023]

You need to visit the Christmas store. We bought our Christmas tree there in 2009. Most beautiful tree we ever owned. You got to eat at the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Sugarcreek. Oh the best food ever and try their butterscotch cream pie.

We had the rustic ornaments a few years before this new tree all purchased from Walmart. Now I cannot wait to put up the tree in our new home, we have a huge bow window in the living room. From floor to ceiling is the windows. Once we get it up I will need to share it then.

There is a small community near Dayton. Plain City Ohio, they have Der Dutchman restaurant there.

[ryeager9]

Originally Posted by ZnGuy

My sister lives in Millersburg and her husband is CPA to the Amish. Holmes County has more Amish than anywhere in US. You can hit the main areas pretty easy (Sugar creek, Walnut Creek, Berlin, Millersburg) as it is only a 30 mile strip on Rt. 39 just west of I-77 (from the Dover area).

When I am up there, I always like to shop at Lehmans store in Kidron, which is a really cool store (you can google their website) off Rt. 30. Rt. 30 also goes to downtown Pittsburgh and is a nice scenic drive through Ohio to Amish country, especially this time of year. I bought my solid-wood dining room set in Berlin and also bought a hand-stitched quilt in Charm, which is a "charming" little Amish community just south of Berlin along Hwy 557.