By Kevin Williams
There's a little slice of southwest Ohio that's guaranteed to bring me happiness and serenity each time I visit. So much of my career has been spent visiting Amish communities, that it is a treasure for me to have a former Amish settlement so close. The 17-acre former Amish homestead, now a MetroPark, features the original farmhouse, replica gardens, and outbuildings. There's also a nature play area and farm-themed programs for the family. You can learn more about the farm's preservation mission here.
I've cherished taking my girls to Chrisholm for programs through the years, so the place holds special family memories, but I also feel the pull of the past. The farmstead is steeped in history and Amish cultural value. I feel at home here. There are rockers on the sheltered front porch where one can sit and just watch the world go by, generally unchanged from when it was first build. But what strikes me more about Chrishom is its beauty by season. There's a barren beauty in winter, a rebirth of spring, a lushness to summer, and turning of autumn, and through it all stands the stately farmhouse, elegant year round.
Here are some photo of Chrisholm in winter.
Beatrice holds a hen at one of the farm programs...
A trellis awaits the greenery of spring....
A view of a barn on the property...
The back of the Chrisholm Amish farmstead....
A picnic shelter graces the grounds, doubt many people use it in the dead of winter...
The bare trees make a tapestry against the brilliant blue of winter
A livestock barn and windmill, Chrishom is a working farm with goats, chickens, and other small livestock used for educational programs.
A marker tells the story....
A small family cemetery is on the grounds...
A serene place to spend eternity....
Another angle of the farmhouse...
A small woods graces the grounds...
Chrisholm from the front, awaiting the beauty of another spring...
Chrisholm hosts many educational farm programs in the historic house....here are Aster and Bea working on a craft...
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