The Amish in Virginia (10+ Communities)

Where do the Amish live in Virginia? I take you through VA's 10+ Amish settlements, from remote mountain valleys to the Northern Neck.

What can you do when visiting these communities? Which Amish stores are worth a visit? I highlight some of my favorite Amish businesses in the state - and other interesting aspects of Virginia Amish communities.

Amish have found the Old Dominion State an attractive place to settle over the past decade (Virginia has added seven new communities since 2012). I finish with a look into the past at several historic Amish settlements in the stat, which for various reasons have ceased to exist.

My name is Erik Wesner and I'm not Amish. Back in 2004, I met the Amish while selling books door-to-door. Since then, I've visited 5,000+ Amish homes & dozens of Amish communities. I run the Amish America website. More: https://amishamerica.com/

Images - Most images in this video are my own, except for the following public domain, creative commons, or contributed images:

Burkes Garden aerial: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AIMG_9546burkes-garden-va-06-2016.jpg

Stuarts Draft sign:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2019-06-06_13_10_06_View_west_along_Interstate_64_and_south_along_Interstate_81_at_Exit_217_(Virginia_State_Route_654,_Mint_Spring,_Stuarts_Draft)_in_Brookwood,_Augusta_County,_Virginia.jpg

Pearisburg: Amish America reader Shawn

DC street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_and_Georgetown_Railroad#/media/File:Penn_Ave_horsecars.jpg

DC market:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, National Museum Building Construction Records, Image No. SIA2009-1992

Shenandoah Valley:
https://picryl.com/media/spring-planting-shenandoah-valley-virginia-1
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

Amish population: 2020-2021 Amish population figures in this video via the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (http://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/). Note: the population numbers for Charlotte County have recently been re-estimated at 440, but it remains the largest Amish settlement in the state.

Articles:
"Two Northern Neck changes: Arrival of Mennonite and Amish, and business growth" by Rob Hedelt, January 11, 2020, The Free Lance–Star
https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/two-northern-neck-changes-arrival-of-mennonite-and-amish-and-business-growth/article_5c6be5e1-947d-56de-b5fe-c6cffe0983d4.html

"Amish store in Chatham welcomes all" by Vicki Morrison, November 18, 2014, Danville Register & Bee
https://richmond.com/amish-store-in-chatham-welcomes-all/article_ac313c80-570a-5b89-b1c7-d19e313c284a.html

Books mentioned:
The Amish in America: Settlements That Failed, 1840 - 1960 by David Luthy https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Amish_in_America/QWc_AQAAIAAJ?hl=en

Growing Up Amish: The Rumspringa Years by Richard Stevick https://www.google.com/books/edition/Growing_Up_Amish/Il1iAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&kptab=overview

Hat tip to Richard Stevick for additional info on the Pearisburg community's interpretation practice.

Видео The Amish in Virginia (10+ Communities) канала Amish America