Amish Country Byway

Story of the Byway

The 190-mile Amish Country Byway boasts views of natural vistas along winding curves and over rolling hills. In addition, this charming country byway offers visitors a fine selection of Amish country cooking as well as sites featuring the culture and history of Amish and German people. Bed & Breakfasts, area hotels and inns offer visitors a wide variety of lodging choices because a visit to the Amish country can last two to three days. Celebrate the lifestyle of a place and people who defy modern conveniences while enjoying the simple pleasures of farm life and country living. The Amish Country Byway offers experiences that many visitors enjoy over and over again.

"Simple Living" is the heritage significance of the Amish, visible all along the Amish Country Byway. These plain people thrive here today for the same reasons their Amish ancestors journeyed here – to establish their families, homes, and livelihoods practicing their devout Anabaptist faith free from persecution, drawing from these lush northern Appalachian soils.

The Amish Country circle of multi-cultural community life depends upon and draws from the byway, home to the largest settlement of Amish in the world. Early Amish settlers were among the first white men to forge and design its path in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

One out of every six Amish in the world lives in this settlement (over 40,000). With devout religious convictions whose roots go deep into the soil, their way of life enriches and influences the life of the entire community and the visitors who come here.

The story of the Amish, their opportunity to thrive in the northern foothills of Appalachia, is not complete without the understanding of the interdependence they have woven with the entire community.

The viewshed of the byway reflects the integration of the historically agriculturally based economy of the Amish with the culture of the Appalachian people. Both came to Ohio as immigrants yearning to lay down family roots. These roots grew into a codependent community based on mutual needs, strong work ethic, strong family values, and a deep sense of belonging to these hills and valleys called Amish Country.

Holmes County and the surrounding counties maintain the largest Amish settlement in the world. Families, businesses, and related services exist to support this thriving culture. Economic growth has continued countywide.

The small businesses owned by the Amish and Mennonites have made the Amish Country Byway in Holmes County a national destination. Bulk food stores that serve the local Amish community are now unique boutiques where busses with visitors stop to buy local meats, cheeses and eat hand-dipped ice cream.

The Amish culture continues to prosper along with the economy. When people are working, and products from the farm and home are valued, the Amish and English from rural Ohio can succeed in their spiritual and familial lifestyles. Building businesses and homes, the Amish and English in this community have been investing in their future for the past several decades.

With the continued prosperity and growth of local farms and entrepreneurial businesses such as furniture-making, the Amish population is continuing to rise. With the increased population, there are more opportunities as well as pressures. When local English-owned farms sell, the Amish often purchase this farmland. Many local farms are split into small parcels, supporting the needs of the Amish family, who own horses and small livestock for personal use. Still, there is not enough land to meet the needs of growing Amish families. Since the 1980s, many Amish church families band together and seek new settlements in Montana, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, and Maine, to name a few.

The Sugarcreek 'Budget' newspaper still serves the many Amish communities across the US and Canada by the weekly publication of Amish settlement news and advice columns. One can learn about births, illnesses, and deaths through the correspondence of local community reporters in these Amish settlements, mostly with their familial roots from Holmes County, Ohio.

While fascinating, the Amish people are very friendly and approachable. Visitors are welcomed from all US states, all Canadian provinces, and over 100 countries worldwide each year as recorded at the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center and other museums annually.