I stumbled into an interesting/funny story recently concerning a plain settlement in Kentucky. Karen, a Facebook friend and Amish Cook fan   in Crofton,  has often told me about the large Mennonite presence there. In doing research for my upcoming book, Amish Cooks Across America, I received some recipes and a letter from an Amish woman in Crofton, which surprised me.  So I spoke to my Crofton contact and we tried to figure it out.  Karen said she had been calling them Mennonites for over 40 years. I asked her if the married men had beards and she said "yes"....Hmmm, that's usually a quick tip-off that we're talking Amish, not Mennonite.  Yet some other characteristics she described about them sounded Mennonite.  So she volunteered to do a little bit more digging by talking to some of her plain friends in the area. Turns out we were both right...sort of.  Apparently the group used to be Mennonite before turning into a New Order Amish church.  It's far more common, in my experience, for Amish churches or individuals to turn Mennonite, but not nearly as common to go the other direction.  Martin is a very common Mennonite last name but I did meet a man named Martin who changed from a Mennonite to Old Order Amish church years ago. So it does happen with both churches and invidiuals.  There are two church districts in this "mystery church" and they do use horse and buggy. What makes this a little unusual is that most New Order Amish do worship in their homes just as Old Order Amish do, but this church has a meetinghouse where they hold services (see above).  And Karen was able to get a couple of photos of their parochial school. See below:
Crofton is a tiny town with less than 1000 residents in the northern part of Christian County, Kentucky. Â Other areas of the county and adjacent parts of Kentucky have experienced a surge in their Amish population over the past decade or so.
Kentuckylady717
Just where is this ? I am from KY and never saw an Amish person or even heard of them....then moved to Michigan, and lived there for years, never saw any or even heard of them....then moved to Ohio, and now I see them all the time at Walmart, and going and coming from town....we even have a Deli in town and they carry KEIM'S Amish products, bakery items, meats and lots and lots of canned items are there to purchase....just went today and purchased a Peach fried pie and an Apple fried pie.....very good.....a bit expensive tho.....they also had the cream horns, will try one of those later.....just sayin 🙂
mary watson
the creme horns are the best i have ever tasted
Elaine B.
Hi Mary, Where did you get the good cream horns? They are hard to find now days.
Kentuckylady717
Thanks Mary, did you buy them from Keim's ?
Brenda
We live near this - If not mistaken they serve meals to raise funds for their school - it is in the basement of the building and we have eaten there a couple of times - I feel sure it is the same place from looking at the pics and thinking they still servemonthly - I had forgotten about it have been jogged back into searching info for their serving dates and ready to visit again - why?.... yummy!
Kevin
Brenda, you are correct..they do serve the meals once a month, sounds yummy!
Dixie Suthard
They have a store in Crofton where my husband and I shopped recently. He heard they had a certain item for Arthiritis and sure enough we found it. The store was full of shoppers that day. We have also been to their dinners and there is always a good turnout and the food is wonderful.
Kevin
Dixie, thanks for sharing that, I'd love to go sometime myself!
Marvin Ropp
Kevin;
Just came across your interest about the Amish in Crofton KY. area. I am x-Amish and I my grandparents lived in Gutherie, KY. So I am very familiar with the area.
The reason for contacting you, I travel to many Amish communities and teach them "How To Prevent Mineral Deficiency Diseases In: Plants Animals and You and Your Family.
I will be at the:
Blue Grass Sale Stable
205 Tress Shop Road
Trenton, KY. 42286
on the 25th of Oct at 6 pm with Dr. Joel Wallach as the guess speaker, you are invited to come and If you know any Amish neighbors in your area that would like to come as well, please feel free to bring them along.
Sincerely;
Marvin Ropp
(801) 391-0193