AMISH
An Amish man rakes hay from the fields.
High-quality furniture, tasty foods keep visitors coming back for more By Amanda Gilmore
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ife seems a little slower in this part of Adams County. You might say it moves at a buggy’s pace. Forty years ago, a few Amish families from Indiana decided that the Wheat Ridge area, near West Union, would be a good place to relocate and put down new roots. What began as a farming community of seven families in 1976 has grown to about 100 Amish households whose members operate a variety of
commercial and industrial businesses serving the entire region. The Wheat Ridge area also has become the county’s biggest tourism draw. “It’s our No. 1 tourist attraction. Second is the Great Serpent Mound,” Tom Cross, director of the Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau, says. “Most people come to purchase Amish furniture and baked goods. They come to relax, maybe get a cabin, go hiking.” Cross thinks that people are attracted to the slower pace of life among the
30 ADAMS COUNTY VISITORS AND COMMUNITY GUIDE
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The deli at Keim Family Market.
Amish and, of course, to the quality craftsmanship that they put into everything from doghouses to donuts. “The Amish are very hardworking,” Cross says, “and they are pretty ingenious. They don’t have electricity. They either use solar power or batteries.” Like most Amish settlements, there are more English families in the Wheat Ridge community than Amish, “but you won’t see any electricity lines running www.adamscountytravel.org
2/14/20 11:35 AM