Indiana’s Amish spreading beyond the Hoosier State

Source: David Arment / Getty

America’s Amish community, known for its rejection of modern technology, has seen a remarkable growth, doubling in size since 2000 and poised to reach one million members by the end of this century.

Source: Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers / Getty

This expansion extends far beyond their traditional heartlands in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. New settlements are sprouting in states like Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Minnesota ‘s population has surged by 230 percent. In New York, their group has more than quadrupled, growing from 4,505 to 21,230 people.

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Their tight-knit communities, focused on family values and shunning modern distractions like cell phones and social media, have contributed to their continued growth.

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Nineteen percent of the Amish in America live in Indiana. The Hoosier state is home to the world’s third-largest group. Indiana has an Amish population of over 62,000 people. As of last year, the Mennonite groups could be found in over two dozen locations across the state.

Source: David Arment / Getty

Amish Communities Across Indiana:

• Lagrange-Elkhart Counties – the northern Indiana community is easily the largest settlement in the state. The town of Shipshewana draws many visitors to this Amish Country destination.
• Nappanee – a stone’s throw from the Lagrange-Elkhart settlement and third largest in Indiana.
• Adams County (Berne) – the Hoosier State’s second-largest community and an example of a Swiss Amish group.
• Allen County – another Swiss Amish settlement a short distance from the Adams County community.
• Daviess County – the sizeable southern Indiana group features Dinky’s auction house and a wide range of small businesses.
• Pennsylvania Amish in Indiana – In the 1990s two groups left crowded Lancaster County, PA for the Hoosier State.
• Other Indiana Amish communities – Indiana has around a dozen more settlements of a few church districts or less in size.

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