APRIL 24–25, 2025
Allegany County
Nora
captured this image of an Amish woman working in the woods.
Amish community continues to grow in Allegany County, New York state
by Kathryn Ross
Amish America reports that New York state is home to more than two dozen Amish settlements, with Western New York’s being one of the fastest growing populations in the state.
Throughout the state the Amish population grew from a little over 4,000 in 1992 to more than 22,500 and 2022. Statistics compiled in 2022 by Edsel Burdgee of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabeth College near Geneva
show that there are more than 1,500 Amish living in Allegany County, with most making their homes in the towns of Angelica, Belfast and Friendship.
About one quarter of the Amish population live in the towns of Wellsville, Willing and Whitesville.
The Amish in Allegany County are of the Old Order, very conservative and traditional, living without electricity, phones, or cars and driving horse and buggies for transportation. They make their living using old-fashioned farming practices and techniques
and using horse-drawn equipment to plow and plant their fields and harvest their crops, which does not include the use of chemicals and pesticides.
They make handcrafted items to sell along with baked goods, jams and jellies, canned vegetables and flowers and plants. They are builders and craftsmen.
They are contributing residents to the local economy and like their English neighbors pay property taxes, school taxes, and pay for hunting and fishing licenses.
A project completed in 2020 was a map, created by the Town of Willing with the help of the Allegany County Planning and Development Office, of the Amish businesses located in the southern part of the county. The map includes approximately 50 businesses located in Wellsville, Whitesville and Hallsport and along the state highways.
The map has been available from the Town of Willing office and at the Wellsville Area Cham-
...continued on page 4
Photo by Nora Wilson Wheeler
photographer
Wilson Wheeler
Amish Communities
...continued from page 3
ber of Commerce office.
The businesses listed on the map include sawmills, numerous furniture and cabinetry makers, baked goods and produce sellers, greenhouses, fruit markets, dry goods, baskets, footwear, rugs, maple syrup and horse training.
Elizabethtown College professor Don Kraybill said, “The Amish movement into New York has been fueled by a contagion effect in which fam-
ilies report back finding productive and underpriced land and other factors that are conducive to the way they live, such as weather, growing season and congenial neighbors and local officials.”
New York has lower land prices in rural areas than does Pennsylvania and Ohio. New York also has more acres of rural isolation.
Karen Johnson Weiner, an anthropology professor at the State University of New York at Potsdam, said, “Some new Amish arrivals are buying land that has not been farmed since the mid decades of the 20th century. They’re revitalizing farming.”
According to Kraybill, farmland in traditional Lancaster County in Pennsylvania costs about $15,000 per acre while in rural New York land prices are much cheaper.
“Amish migration, although sometimes multigenerational, often
consists of younger couples looking for cheaper farmland or new locations to set up small micro enterprises,” he said, adding, “multi-generation families are moving together after purchasing several adjacent farms at the same time.”
What rural New York offers the Amish population is a place to start new farms and businesses and a place to continue their traditions.
by Deb Everts
Photo
Fresh laundry hanging out on a clothesline during a warm, sunny day is a common sight in the town of Leon and all over Amish country.
Leon Historical Society offers Amish Country tours
by Deb Everts
Discover Amish Country where life is simple and the stress of modern-day living melts away. Spend the day, or a few hours, on a guided tour through the local community and discover their unique culture. Experience the Amish way of life up close on a personalized tour offered by a guide from the Leon Historical Society Museum. Historian Pat Bromley or Klayton Peterson, historical society president, will ride along with visitors in their vehicle to share their knowledge of the area’s Old Order Amish. The guides will take visitors to their destinations of interest where they will have the opportunity to talk with the Amish people and ask questions.
The tour could include a visit to a one-room schoolhouse, a toy shop, a quilt shop and a bake shop. Bromley said visitors on the tour have the opportu-
nity to go inside the schoolhouse to see how Amish learn reading, writing and arithmetic through the eighth grade. She said the schoolhouses are located every two miles throughout the Amish community. As visitors travel along Cattaraugus County’s Amish Trail, they will witness the traditional lifestyle of the Amish, full of hard work, faith and simplicity. They will see horse-drawn Amish buggies on the road and people working on their vintage farm machinery, working the fields. On a warm, sunny day, long clotheslines loaded with clothes drying in the breeze can be seen, and children walking to or from a nearby one-room schoolhouse are everyday sights along the trail.
A wide variety of Amish-made goods are available around almost every corner including jams, candy, baked goods, quilts, rugs, baskets, toys, furniture, cabinetry, footwear, iron crafts, tarps, sheds,
homegrown seasonal produce, plants at greenhouses, stainless steel products, lumber, leather goods and much more. All Amish businesses are cash-only and there are no Sunday sales. Photographing the Amish people is prohibited due to their religious beliefs.
Bromley has learned a lot about her Amish neighbors and their ways. She said they have a hard life, but a good life; they want a simple life and respect. They do not want pictures taken of themselves, but they don’t mind people taking pictures of the products they make as long as they aren’t in them.
The local Amish community has been a part of Cattaraugus County’s history since 1949, when the first families arrived from Holmes and Wayne counties, in Ohio, and Enon Valley, in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 Old Order Amish reside mostly in the western part of the county in the towns of Conewango and Leon.
Bromley has a home among the Amish farms, in the town of Leon, where the population is 80% Amish. She has lived in Leon for years and knows many Amish shopkeepers along the backroads.
“Today’s Amish have accepted that tourism has really helped their businesses,” she said. “While many visitors come to Cattaraugus County to solely
experience the leisurely drive along the Amish Trail, others come to buy quilts or order furniture.”
Bromley said the rough back roads of the county make it difficult for buses, so car and van tours are recommended. She said their shops are small and cannot accommodate a busload of people. The smaller car tours offer visitors more time to mingle and interact with the Amish merchants.
Personalized tours are available by reservation only through The Leon Historical Society Museum. Suggested donation is $50 per vehicle for a two-hour tour. To schedule a tour, call Bromley at (716) 2965709 or Peterson at (716) 574-9883.
Visitors wishing to tour Amish Country on their own may view or download the Amish Trail brochure online at amishtrail. com. Brochures are also available at Randolph’s Amish Trail Welcome Center, located in the front foyer of the municipal building at 72 Main St. Beginning May 3, the 1836 church owned by the Leon Historical Society will be open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the museum from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Special presentations featuring the Pennyroyal Racetrack will take place at the museum through Oct. 11. For more details, visit online at leonhistoricalsociety.weebly. com.
Tour the Amish Trail where life is simple
by Deb Everts
Relax and travel back in time on a self-guided tour through Cattaraugus County’s Amish Country. Discover a simpler way of life along the Amish Trail and learn about the culture of the Old Order Amish who keep their lives separate from the modern world.
The purpose of the Amish Trail program is to bring business to both Amish and other small-business shops among the Amish communities. Established in 2008 by the Randolph Area Community Development Corporation, the trail covers more than a dozen towns stretching from Little Valley, Gowanda and East Otto to Conewango and Randolph.
While driving through Amish Country, visitors will see hand-painted signs advertising dozens of businesses offering a variety of goods including jams, candy, baked goods, quilts, rugs, baskets, toys, furniture, cabinetry, footwear, iron crafts, tarps, sheds, homegrown seasonal produce, plants at greenhouses, stainless steel products, lumber and leather goods. All Amish businesses are cash-only and there are no Sunday sales. Photographing the Amish people is prohibited due to their religious beliefs.
Dairy farming and building trades are the
main occupations, but sawmills and greenhouses are plentiful. Many Amish men are highly skilled master craftsmen, famous for their beautiful furniture and fine carpentry work. Amish women are particularly gifted in making quilts, baking and gardening.
One-room schoolhouses dot the landscape and children can be seen walking to or from home with their lunch pails in hand. Amish school ends in early May, so the children can help with spring crops and in the fields over the summer when there is more work to be done.
Although the Amish are mostly self-sufficient and need little from the outside world, it’s common to see them traveling along the back roads to neighboring villages and hamlets where they buy additional food and supplies.
Patience is the word when motorists get behind them in their slow-moving buggies that are often hard to see, especially at night.
Cattaraugus County’s Amish are Old Order Amish. They believe in living a simple life, free from the distractions of modern technology and materialism, including cars, electricity and tractors.
According to Amish America online, Conewango Valley is the oldest and one of the
two largest Amish settlements in New York State today. Founded in 1949 by Amish families from Holmes and Wayne counties in Ohio and Enon Valley, in Pennsylvania, they came to this area seeking cheaper farmland and greater freedom to practice certain rules and regulations of the Amish church. Nearly 3,000 Old Order Amish reside mostly in the western part of Cattaraugus County in the towns of Conewango and Leon.
Karen Belt, town of Conewango clerk, said the town’s total population is 1,785, and the Amish population is 60% of that number, 1,065. She said the Amish are a great asset to the town.
“In our region, full of natural beauty, the Amish and English work together to make our community a popular tourist destination,” she said.
Belt said the Amish frequent local “English” stores, pay property taxes on ever-growing new construction, and also pay English school taxes, while their children are educated in their many one-room schoolhouses.
Conewango resident Tanya Lipscomb said the Amish who live in her area play a huge role in her community. She said they seem to have enough variation in their services and the products they sell to satisfy local shoppers and out-of-towners.
Lipscomb said she per-
sonally enjoys shopping locally. It saves gas on traveling and gives her a chance to get to know her neighbors.
“We learn about the Amish ways and they learn about us, as well. If you shop local for long enough, you will create lifelong friendships,” she said.
Pat Bromley, Leon’s town historian, resides in the midst of Amish Country. She said the Amish are great neighbors and are very important in the Leon community, making up 80% of the population.
“They shop at our stores and we shop at theirs,” she said. “The furniture is beautiful. All you have to do is look at it and, if you want something a little different, just ask. And the quilts at the quilt shops — take a little ride and see.”
The Cattaraugus County Office of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism offers an Amish Trail brochure that lists more than 200 Amish and English businesses marked on a tear-out map and GPS numbers for most sites. The brochure can be downloaded and viewed online at amishtrail.com or mailed to individuals upon request.
Personalized tours are available by reservation only through The Leon Historical Society Museum. Call Bromley at (716) 296-5709 or Klayton Peterson at (716) 574-9883 to schedule a tour.
Beliefs and customs: What sets the Amish apart?
by Kathryn Ross
In a 2020 article, Zack Zavada unlocked the mystery surrounding the religious beliefs and practices of the Amish, revealing that their beliefs aren’t so different those practiced by Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians — and even Catholics.
Separation from society is their strongest belief, based on information from the same King James Bible most Christian faiths use. That is predicated on Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:17, which tells Christians “not to be conformed to this world” but to “come out from among unbelievers” and “be set apart from them.”
Isolating themselves from the rest of society is one of the key Amish beliefs. They think secular culture has a polluting effect promoting pride, greed, immorality and materialism. Therefore,
Former Allegany County historian and avid photographer Caig Braack found Amish gathering in the winter time.
they avoid the use of television, radios, computers, and modern appliances in their homes but not necessarily in their businesses.
The Old Order Amish Mennonite Church was founded by Jakob Ammann but its roots go back to the 16th century Swiss Anabaptists. Their mission is to “live humbly and remain unblemished by the world” (Romans 12:2; James 1:27).
The Amish practice adult baptism called “Believer’s Baptism,” with teenage candidates baptized during the regular worship service, usually in the fall. Applicants
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of water and wash each other’s feet. Women sit in another room and do the same thing.
answer four questions to confirm their commitment to the church. The deacon and bishop pour water over the boys’ and girls’ heads head three times, recognizing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As they are welcomed into the church, boys are given a Holy Kiss, and girls receive the same greeting from the deacon’s wife.
Communion is practiced twice a year, in the spring and in the fall when Church members receive a piece of bread to eat. Wine is poured into a cup and each person takes a sip. Men, sitting in one room, take buckets
With hymns and sermons, the communion service can last more than three hours. Men quietly slip a cash offering into the deacon’s hand for emergency or to aid with expenses in the community. This is the only time an offering is given.
Amish believe heaven and hell are real places. Heaven is the reward and Hell is for those who reject Christ as Savior. They believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he was born of a virgin, died for our sins and rose from the dead. They believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Amish believe in salvation by grace.
The Amish conduct worship services in each others’ homes, on alternating Sundays and on
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Beliefs and Customs
continued from page 10
other Sundays they visit neighboring congregations, family, or friends. During services men and women sit in separate rooms. They sing hymns in unison with no musical instruments. Musical instruments are too worldly for them.
A short sermon is part of the service and is given in Pennsylvania German. Hymns are sung in High German. After the service there is a light lunch and social time.
Amish get married in their 20s and divorce is taboo, as Amish consider wedding vows to be binding for life.
Amish women typically take a subservient
role to their husbands in public. In private Amish women are highly influential with husbands yielding particularly on household matters, such as purchases for the family and home.
Karen Johnson-Weiner, author of “The Lives of Amish Women,” writes that while the church believes the role of women is in homemaking and childrearing, women are not forced into marriage and can lead single lives within the community. They can also work outside the home and they can play an important role in earning income for the family.
File photo
Share the road and drive with caution in Amish areas — the drivers of the horse-drawn buggies and their passengers have just as much right to road as anyone else.
Careful driving a must in Amish country
Google the word “Amish” and then search for news, by far the most results will be stories about tragic accidents involving motor vehicles and Amish horse-andbuggy rigs.
From Pennsylvania and New York, to Indiana and Ohio to Michigan and Minnesota, news reports from the last few months detail seemingly similar incidents.
In some cases, the incidents are deadly — in Michigan late in March an 8-year-old Amish girl was killed and a 12-yearold Amish boy was critically injured when an SUV crashed into the children’s buggy. Their horse was killed.
Earlier in April, on an Indiana road near the Michigan line, a teenager-driven Mercedes struck a buggy and killed three Amish children.
Buggies on roads are
not unusual sights in this region — from the Conewango Valley in Cattaraugus County and the Belfast area in Allegany County to growing Amish communities found in Potter and McKean counties.
In New York state, the law says Amish buggies have the same rights as any other vehicle. New York state law also requires that Amish buggies have very clear, orange, reflective triangles on the back. Sometimes, however, that law is ignored.
Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin require flashing lights on horsedrawn buggies.
When passing any vehicle, including horsedrawn buggies, do so legally. Generally, that means following road signs and markings that designate safe-passing zones, passing on the left
and returning to the right lane as safely as possible, leaving reasonable room for any vehicles you’re overtaking.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the agency for the state home to the largest and oldest Amish settlements in the country, you should always make sure you have enough room to safely pass a horse-drawn buggy on the road.
Keep in mind these types of vehicles will often roll back a few feet when they stop at a traffic light or in the roadway. To avoid being surprised, drop your speed, stay alert and make sure you can see the buggy’s wheels touching the road, otherwise you may be too close.
A few other important tips, provided by PennDOT, include the following:
• Lay off your horn when you’re near a horse. The animal will probably be wearing blinders so it isn’t easily spooked when objects enter its peripheral vision. That said, loud noises can startle horses, so slow down when approaching a horse and leave plenty of room when you pass.
• If you spot a horse and buggy approaching from the opposite direction you’re traveling, dim your headlights and stay alert to any vehicles that might attempt to pass it.
• Stay alert when driving in Amish areas, particularly when rounding curves or traveling over rises in the road that obstruct the view.
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by Deb Everts Seated on a plow, an Amish man works the field with a team of four draft horses in the town of Conewango.
A young Amish man drives a team of draft horses pulling a metalwheeled manure spreader from out of a field in the town of Conewango.
Photos
Amish population growing in McKean Co.
By Marcie Schellhammer
Rural areas of Pennsylvania are attracting residents who are seeking what the region has to offer — available land and a lower cost of living.
Quietly and steadily, over the past several years, Amish populations from elsewhere in the state have been relocating to the region, in areas like Annin Township, Ceres Township, Mount Jewett, the Eldred area and more.
They’ve bought “fixer upper” residences in the region and have brought them back to life, in many cases putting on additions for their large families. Some properties have come not only with a house, but also with acres of land that weren’t maintained by the former owners. The new Amish owners have cleared away the brush around the land and set to work.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said a local man, who declined to be named. He’s a friend of many in the Amish community in Annin Township, where he estimates about 60 families live. “They work hard.”
Their construction crews work steadily throughout the region, their produce and baked
goods are sold at farmers markets, their furniture is sought after for its quality and durability. And while maintaining their own religious beliefs, lifestyle and even language, the Amish folk have been friendly and neighborly.
Throughout the summer, Amish construction crews — which stand out not only for their work ethic but also for their simple clothing, hats and beards — have been seen throughout the county, including in Bradford, putting roofs on houses, and building or renovating properties.
State Rep. Marty Causer, R-Turtlepoint, said with a laugh, “I think I’m surrounded by Amish families here in Turtlepoint.”
And he’s happy to
see it. “It’s growth and development. They are paying property tax like everyone else and they are contributing to the community.”
The legislator added, “I think we as a community have welcomed them.”
The population of Amish folk in Annin Township is continuing to grow. Younger families continue to move to McKean County, and continue to have children.
“I think Turtlepoint and Annin Township have been the center of it,” Causer said of the population growth.
“They have three schools set up,” he said, explaining one is on Route 155 at Turtlepoint, one is on Pine Grove Road and another is on
Newell Creek Road by St. Mary Catholic Church.
“That demonstrates how many kids they are educating,” Causer said. “The population, I can say it’s sizable and growing.”
Annin Township has been sparsely populated in the past, and when members of the Amish community come in, “They’ve bought up old farms and areas that were, in some cases, dilapidated and really fixed them up.
“They’re contributing to the community in a definite way,” he said. “I see it all as positive. My interactions with them have been very positive. I think they’re a great addition to the community.”
Many have the impression that Amish are farmers by trade, but Causer said that isn’t really the case.
“A lot of people have sawmills and are working in the forest production realm,” he said. “Many of them have farm animals, too, but I have noticed many of them are involved in forestry and forest products.”
Carpentry is a common trade, with many of them working as contractors in the area. “They
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File photo
A handcrafted dining room table with customized images of a buck, not only on the table but also on the chairs and benches.
that they do not have electricity or drive vehicles, they do use natural gas for lighting and cooking. Wood and coal are used for heat.
“Between burning wood and natural gas they were utilizing those resources,” Causer said.
“A lot of these old farms had natural gas wells on their property.”
The local resident described his Amish friends as being very family connected.
tlement that was established in 1847.
Causer said he had spoken to some families when they arrived in Turtlepoint, and asked why they had left the Punxsutawney area. “They said it was growing up too fast down there.”
The Amish are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, and possibly in McKean County, too.
often bring a lot of people with them and many people can make work go quickly in getting projects completed,” Causer said, referring to the speed with which projects are completed.
“We’ve seen how fast they’ve put up houses and barns,” he added.
While the local community is traditional, in
“A lot of them came from Smicksburg, near Punxsutawney,” he said. “If the parents move, the kids move with them.”
The settlement in Smicksburg was from New Wilmington, a set-
“I think there will be more as long as there is adequate property available,” the local man said. “Some have come and gone already. As a rule they seem to be satisfied with the area. They are spending money like they are going to stay.”
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File photo
A handmade hardwood kitchen pantry cabinet and bedroom set.
Two Amish fishermen move along Conewango Creek in the town of Conewango using a homemade propeller on a long shaft attached to a battery-operated hand drill.
File Photos
An Amish farmer in the town of Conewango in western Cattaraugus County cuts hay with a horse-drawn mower.
An Amish farmer uses a twohorse team to pull a machine spreading lime on a field off Route 62 in the town of Conewango in western Cattaraugus County. A trio of Amish fishermen try their luck at catching the
big one in a pond located off the South Nine Mile Road in the town of Carrollton.
A woman’s work is never done, and the saying holds true for this hardworking Amish woman dragging a plowed field in the town of Conewango.
Amish men share a neighborly chat on a warm, sunny day in the town of Leon.
Photos by Deb Everts
Two
An Amish woman travels the backroads in the town of Leon.
File photo An Amish farmer drives a pair of work horses pulling a sickle bar through a hayfield in western Cattaraugus County.
Recipes
Strawberry Shortcake
• 1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. of salt
• 3 cups of flour
• 4 tsp. of baking power
• 1 cup of milk
Mix and pour into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 until done. Serve warm with cold milk and strawberries. Yummy!!! •••
Sweet and Salty Pretzels
• 1 (3lb) bag of salty Stix pretzels
• 1 cup butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
Put pretzels in a large bowl, set aside. Heat butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and stir constantly. Let cool a little to caramelize and pour over pretzels then put on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes, rotate and bake for 6 more minutes.
Mocha Cupcakes
• 1 chocolate cake, make as directed and put in a muffin pan
• icing
• 4 cups cool whip
• 1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding
• 1tsp. instant coffee
• 1 tsp. vanilla
Yield 24-28
Dandelion Gravy
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 4 slices of Velveeta cheese
• 3 hardboiled eggs (chopped)
• 5 slices of bacon fried and crumbled
• 1/2 cup chopped dandelion greens.
Very delicious.
Monster Bars
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp. karo
• 4 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup M&M’s
• 3/4 cups chocolate chips
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, do not over bake.
Buddy Bars
• 1 and a 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 3 eggs 1 cup flour
• a pinch of salt
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When done put chocolate chips on top.
Frozen Mocha Cheese Cake
Crust: 2 and 1/4 cups Oreo cookies 1/4 cup melted butter
Combine crumbs and butter and press in a 9x13 pan, reserve 3/4 cup for crumbs for the top
• 2 (8oz) cream cheese (softened)
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
• 2 tsp. instant coffee
• 1 tbsp. hot water
• 16oz cool whip
Dissolve coffee in hot water and mix in to cream cheese, condensed milk and chocolate syrup until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Poor over crust and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Cover and freeze for 8 hours over night! A summer time favorite!
This image provided by the National
damaged by a tornado in an Amish community in
Amish communities quickly repair tornado damage in Michigan, Indiana
BETHEL, Mich. (AP) — No contractors, no repair estimates, no haggling with the insurance company: After a tornado struck an Amish community in Michigan, the work was underway even before the National Weather Service could assess the damage.
Meteorologists make site visits to determine the speed, breadth and impact of a tornado. But sometimes the hammers have already been swinging.
That’s what Dustin Norman
of the weather service found in Branch County, Michigan, a few days after a tornado Wednesday with peak winds of 100 mph (160 kph). The Amish had put new shingles on a home, reframed a barn and made other major repairs in their community.
He said the situation was similar in an Amish area hit by a tornado that day in Adams County, Indiana, 90 miles (145 kilometers) south.
“Once something gets damaged,
they just fix it,” Norman said Tuesday. “We can’t always get out there for two or three days. When we do, it looks like nothing happened. ... I completely respect how quickly they get stuff done.”
The Amish generally are private and insular and maintain a degree of separation from common society. Approximately 61% of the North American Amish population lives in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, according to Elizabethtown College.
Associated Press
Weather Service shows property
Bethel, Mich.
