The the Golden State has a very sparse "plain presence."   There is a very small Beachy Amish Mennonite settlement near Lebec, an hour or so north of Los Angeles in the rural reaches of Ventura County. That's a settlement I would enjoy visiting someday.
There is also a small Mennonite community near Bangor, California in the far north. Â The Golden State's largest Plain population can be found near Modesto where there is a robust German Baptist community. Â Our Plain Kansas columnist, Rosanna Bauman, will visit there next month and share photos and stories. Â There have been several splits within the Brethren church over the past few years so I'm not sure who is Old Conference and New Conference. Â Â An area around Modesto known locally as "Wood Colony" is being eyed by city administrators as prime industrial property. Â Modesto Bell columnist Jeff Jardine takes exception to that and in the process does a great job of explaining the area's rich Brethren history. Click here to read.
There is one California entry in the Williams Guide, a post about Cover's Apple Ranch, a German Baptist-owned apple orchard high up in the Sierra foothills.
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