Michigan Amish communities tend to be smaller and more compact than the sprawling ones in Indiana and Ohio. I’ve tried to figure out why but I think the state’s geography explains it. You have the “mitten” of Michigan that makes the state an “island” on three sides. And on this “island” (okay, peninsula) you have huge Rust Belt industrial cities like Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek and others that make sprawling rural growth difficult. But there is also still plenty of rural areas that the Amish would find appealing, they just have to pick and choose wisely.
One of Homer's Amish school-houses sits silently during its summer slumber. This photo was taken in July. In another two months, the doors will open for the year.
One settlement that started in the mid-90s was started with transplants from Adams County, Indiana, but has grown and thrived into an Amish community with a variety of voices and backgrounds.
This Amish settlement is known as the Homer community but, true to most Amish communities, it actually several miles east of Homer. So if you go looking for the Amish in Homer, you won’t find any. The Homer community is a far corner of Calhoun County, which counts the "Cereal City" - Battle Creek - as its home.
The heart of the Homer community is several miles to the east. According to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College, there are 4 Amish church districts here with about 400 people.
Finding an Old Friend
Several Amish owned businesses dot the community
When I saw some of the Amish surnames on mailboxes here, I remembered that an old friend of mine from the Amish community in Adams County, Indiana had moved here years ago. So I decided to look him up (yes, you can look up an Amish address on Google just like you would anyone else's) And when I passed his house, he was outside! So I pulled in so I could pay a quick visit. I had not seen him in 30 years. He was surprised to see me. But it was nice to catch up. He told me how his mother’s family was one of the founding families of this community way back in the mid-1990s. Now his whole family is here. My friend had aged well, a fit 60-years-old and out doing farm chores like no time had passed.
What are the Homer Amish Like?
My photo camera got stuck on some funky spotlight setting, but here is a buggy parked in the Homer community.
Well, I observed the community to be very conventional middle-of-the-road Amish. Not ultraconservative, nor super progressive. If I were looking to visit an authentic Amish settlement untouched by tourism and technology yet are still welcoming to outsiders visiting, Homer would be a super place to start.
The community has at least one Amish school. There is also a bakery, a bulk food store, a harness shop and a general store. Other home-businesses from a butcher shop to a welding/fabricating shop dot the rural landscape.
PRO TIP: Like most Amish businesses, credit cards are not accepted, so bring cash with you. Or your check book.
Homer is not an Amish community to visit if you are expecting a lot of tourist amenities like nearby hotels, buffets, and the like. But if you just want to spend an afternoon in Amish community exploring, then Homer, Michigan should definitely be on your Amish bucket list!
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