# Amish and Mennonites

The Amish and Mennonites are Evangelical ethno-religious communities with roots in Germanic Europe. In the United States they are prevalent in rural Lancaster County in Pennsylvania and the Wooster area of Ohio. The Amish community in Canada is small, but Mennonites are widely dispersed across the country, with clusters in the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, and the Steinbach area of Eastern Manitoba. Mennonites are also prominent in the Gran Chaco in Paraguay and in Chihuahua in Mexico.

## Understand

Both the Amish and Mennonites are Anabaptists, Protestant groups with roots in the Radical Reformation in the 16th century. Many of them immigrated to colonial North America to escape religious persecution in Europe in the 18th century.
The Amish live by the Ordnung, a set of religious rules. The most visible outcome of the Ordnung is that some Amish to a greater or lesser degree reject modern clothing, motor vehicles and electric machinery. The Amish do not see technology in itself as evil, but they reject inventions which challenge virtues such as diligence and family ties.
There are taboos among these peoples about having their photographs taken: most Amish and Mennonites will refuse if asked. This prohibition is based on the Biblical verse "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image", and the Amish interpretation of this verse considers taking photographs of people to be idolatry.

## Talk

While German-speaking peoples made up a large portion of European settlers in North America, the Amish are among the few who have preserved their language to present day. Their traditional language in Pennsylvania is known as Pennsylvania German, or Pennsylvania Dutch (a mispronunciation of Deutsch).
High German is the liturgical language for the Amish, but generally speaking, only members of the clergy are conversant in High German.
In modern times, most Amish speak English as well to communicate with non-Amish clients for their businesses, so you should have no problem getting by. In Amish parlance, the word "English" is used broadly to refer to all non-Amish people.

## See

* 40.5678-81.78051 Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center (Berlin, Ohio). Features a stunning visual depiction of the history of the Amish and Mennonite people.
* 40.026184-76.2030282 Amish Farm and House ( Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Opened in 1955 as America's first Amish attraction.
* 40.540898-81.7222283 German Culture Museum (Walnut Creek, Ohio, near Berlin). A museum of German American history, focusing on the Amish.
* 40.007581-76.1867234 The Amish Village (Ronks, Pennsylvania, near Lancaster). 1840s farm house furnished as a typical Lancaster County Old Order Amish house. Grounds include barn with farm animals, operating water wheel, smoke house with Pennsylvania Dutch foods, blacksmith shop, and w village gift shop.
* 40.027462-76.2241315 Mennonite Life Museum (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). A visitors center that is a jumping-off point to learning about Mennonites and all Mennonite Life has to offer.
* 58.166284-116.4355556 La Crete Mennonite Heritage Village, Township Rd 1060 & Range Rd 154 (La Crête, Alberta), ☏ +1 780 928-4447. (updated Feb 2023)
* 50.27887-107.7766857 Mennonite Heritage Village, Friesen St (Swift Current, Saskatchewan). (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.551601-96.6870698 Mennonite Heritage Village, 231 Provincial Trunk Hwy 12 (Steinbach, Manitoba). (updated Feb 2023)
* 52.665716-106.3436789 Rosthern Museum and Mennonite Interpretive Centre, 510 6 Ave (Rosthern, Saskatchewan), ☏ +1 306-232-7447. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.034814-122.3362110 Mennonite Heritage Museum, 1818 Clearbrook Rd (Abbotsford, British Columbia). (updated Feb 2023)
* 43.475604-80.55234111 Brubacher House, 200 University Ave W (Waterloo, Ontario). (updated Feb 2023)
* 43.445089-80.4952512 Schneider Haus (Schneider Haus National Historic Site), 466 Queen St S (Kitchener, Ontario). (updated Feb 2023)
* 43.511471-80.55363713 The Mennonite Story, GC6W+JG (Woolwich, Ontario). (updated Feb 2023)
* 28.49389-106.90364114 Museo Menonita, Cuahtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico, ☏ +52 625 156 5613. Museum of Mennonite culture with an emphasis on the 75,000 mennonites in the Bustillos Valley of Chihuahua. (updated Aug 2024)

## Buy

The Amish are famous for textiles and woodcraft. You will also be able to find a lot of fresh and delicious foods, including breads, dairy products, and preserves. If you go to an Amish area on a Saturday, you will often see the women holding garage sales selling their hand-woven quilts.
* 40.076719-76.6109551 George's Furniture and Woodshop Tours, 9 Reichs Church Rd (Marietta, Pennsylvania).
* 43.510871-80.5549562 St. Jacobs Farmers' Market, 878 Weber St (Woolwich, Ontario). (updated Feb 2023)

## Eat

Amish women are known for being good cooks, and several Amish women have set up catering businesses to earn some extra income for their families. Amish areas often have buffet restaurants where you can sample some home-style Amish cooking. One particularly common highlight in Amish restaurants is Amish fried chicken.
* 39.7098-88.45861 Yoder's Kitchen, 1195 E Columbia St (Arthur, Illinois), ☏ +1 217 543 2714. Popular restaurant in Illinois' largest Amish settlement, known for their strawberry pies and fried chicken. (updated May 2023)
* 40.038745-76.177882 Bird-in-Hand Bakery and Cafe, 2715 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, ☏ +1 717 768 1501. M–Sa 6AM–5:30PM. Famous for their wet-bottom shoofly pie, made from an old family recipe passed down through generations and perfected by Grandma Smucker. (updated Jan 2025)

## See also

* American Industry Tour, a showcase of the modern technologies that arose in the northeastern United States in the 19th century, parallel to the Amish lifestyle
* Christianity
* Touring Shaker country