The first Amish in Europe to split from the Mennonite community
settled in Switzerland and in the southern Rhine River region.
It is believed the first history shows Amish immigrated to the United States
and settled primarily in Pennsylvania around 1730. Approximately
3,000 additional Amish in various groups, seeking to escape high taxes, crop
failures, war, and religious prosecution, settled in communities in New York,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, and southern Ontario.
It is estimated the Amish now live in as many as 24 states and in Canada and
Central America. Approximately 150,000 Amish now live in North America with about
80% still living in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. The greatest Amish concentration
is in Holmes and adjoining counties in northeast Ohio, about 100 miles from Pittsburgh,
followed by settlements in Elkhart and surrounding counties in northeastern Indiana. The
three broad groups of Amish, the Old Order, the New Order, and a few even more
conservative groups, continue to live a simple lifestyle in accordance with their
religious beliefs. |
