Where Are The Amish In Iowa?

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• 👍 Why Do The Amish Like Iowa?
• 🗺️ Where Are The Amish Communities in Iowa?
• 📋 Other Amish Communities in Iowa
• ⛪ Mennonites in Iowa
• 🛒 More Amish Businesses in Iowa

Iowa has been home to Amish settlements for many years and with plenty of flat farmland to spread out and a temperate climate, their population continues to grow in Hawkeye country! There are a number of Amish communities and businesses listing in this posting, but it's not completely comprehensive, if you spot something that shoudl be listed and isn't, let us know!

.  In the 1960s, for instance, Buchanan County was site of many skirmishes between the Amish church and local government over compulsory education issues.

 Kalona, in Washington County, has long been Iowa's largest settlement and a favorite destination for visitors.  With vast swaths of rural relatively inexpensive farmland, the state is appealing to the Amish.  

👍 Why Do The Amish Like Iowa?

There are many reasons the Amish are attracted to the Hawkeye State, among them:

Temperate climate: while summers can be roasting and winters frigid, the vast majority of the time, the temperatures are comfortable. No hurricanes, earthquakes, or mudslides to contend with either.

Fertile Farmland: Iowa is known as one of the nation's breadbasket states and the Amish have historically been avid farmers, so the state is a good fit in that sense.

Proximity: Iowa is centrally located to a lot of different states that have Amish communities, so family and friends are always close and Iowa is a convenient way-station for Amish heading farther west.

🗺️ Where Are The Amish Communities in Iowa?

For a long time the communities were clustered around Kalona, Hazleton and Bloomfield. The large Amish birth rate and need for farmland elsewhere has caused the state’s Plain population to spread out beyond its traditional areas.  An Amish presence can now be found in most of the state.

Bloomfield

The rural roads between the town of Drakesville and Bloomfield is home to one of the more entrepreneurial Amish settlements.  While other Amish communities are larger and have far more home-based businesses, the Bloomfield settlement is not huge (around 300 Amish families spread among over two dozen church districts), yet there are over 90 home-based businesses selling everything from baked goods to buggies.  Be sure to stop by the welcome center in Bloomfield, because they offer maps of area Amish businesses.  The address is  301 N. Washington in Bloomfield.

We love attending auctions because it’s a fun, relaxed atmosphere were Amish and non-Amish interact.  Each Tuesday and Friday in season the Southern Iowa Produce auction chatters to life.  It’s billed as Iowa’s largest Amish auction and gives a market for local Amish green thumbs to peddle their homegrown wares. The auction is located at 19141 Ice Ave, Bloomfield, phone 641-722-3623 for more information.  Most of the lots are geared towards wholesalers and retailers, but there are always some smaller lots for individuals who want some fresh garden goodies.  There are also special auction days throughout the season, including a Mother’s Day flower auction the Saturday before Mom’s big day and a special fall crops (pumpkins, anyone?) auction. During peak season the auction runs 3 days  week, starting at 4 p.m. on Mondays and 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.

 Other Amish businesses to check to out are listed here (Be sure to use your GPS to find the stores, because even though the mailing address is Bloomfield, most of the stores are closer to Drakesville)

SHADY LANE VARIETY, Phone. 641-664-0212, 16575 Jade Ave. Bloomfield.  This is a classic Amish-owned “a little bit of everything store” offering everything from greeting cards to ice cream freezers.  A visit here is a little bit like a treasure hunt!

GRABER’S COUNTRY STORE, 641-664-3163, 18932 200^th Street, this is another “treasure hunt” store selling everything from Red Wing shoes to camping equipment.

THE BAKERY BARN, 19070 180^th Street, Bloomfield,  this Amish bakery is only open on Fridays and Saturdays so it is worth planning a stop here around your visit.  They offering typical Amish baked goodies (pecan cinnamon rolls, anyone?) with some offbeat specialities like caramel apple pie and bumbleberry pie.

HERSHBERGER BULK FOODS, 18980 180^th Street,  We love this emporium of everything!  If you’re cupboards are bare at home you can find anything here from fresh produce to baking ingredients and deli items.  This is a classic Amish bulk food store.

YODER’S KOUNTRY KORNER, 21050 Ice Avenue, Bloomfield.  There is a furniture side to this store which is open 6 days a week showcasing Amish furniture craftsmanship.  On Fridays and Saturday’s the “sweet side” opens up featuring homemade cinnamon rolls,  cookies, pies,and local specialty, butterhorns.

Our final recommendation for Bloomfield is to enjoy the Amish Iowa ambiance by cruising the rural roads, enjoying the serene scenes of a simpler life.  Many home-based businesses aren’t always on the tourist maps, so a settlement like Bloomfield yields constant new discoveries!

Hazleton

The Hazleton, Iowa community made headlines in the 1960s as one of the flashpoints in the Amish battle to maintain their own parochial schools.  The issue had been a contentious one for some time and not just in Iowa.  Similar clashes were playing out in Wisconsin’s Amish community and among Old Order Mennonites in the Dayton, Virginia community.  The Amish, for religious and cultural reasons, wanted to limit education to the eighth grade. They maintained that for an Amish life the children only needed to attend eight grades, after that the children would learn all they would need working side by side with family on the farm and in their shops. 

There were other reasons.  The 1960s were a time when rural school systems were beginning to consolidate and the cultural influence of the “hippie movement” was beginning to trickle into public school systems. Religion’s influence was also on the wane in public schools. All of these factors were threatening to upend the Amish way of life. Their answer: parochial schools, the traditional “one room” schoolhouses of Little House on the Prairie fame. But the governor and the state legislature weren’t having any of it.  In November 1965 when armed police officers and public school officials arrived at Amish school Number 1, this what happened according to the Associated Press:

With their weeping mothers and flabbergasted school officials looking on, 14 Amish school children bolted into a cornfield behind their rural one-room school and hid yesterday to avoid going to city school. The children broke into a run for a nearby cornfield. The boys, dressed in their knickers and with their traditional broad-brimmed hats firmly on their heads, jumped a fence and disappeared. The Amish girls, clothed in ankle-length gowns and with bonnets on their heads, also eluded the pursuing officers.

The raid became a public relations disaster for the governor as pictures of weeping Amish mothers were published in newspapers across the world.  The legislature and government agreed to a compromise that would allow the Amish to attend their own schools, but the push for federal rules would continue for another 7 years.

Today, things are quieter in Buchanan County.  The one-room school still stands and the settlement remains one of the more conservative ones.  The bulk of the Amish settlement in the area is to the west of Hazleton and we recommend just driving and exploring the grid of rural roads in the area.

AMISH BOULEVARD

Use Iowa road W13 as your north-south orientation to discover a whole range of Amish businesses.   This road is known locally as “Amish Boulevard”, with that being the official mailing address of those who live on the road. Over 50 Amish-owned businesses from bakeries and bulk foods to harness shops line Amish Boulevard. Most are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

PLAINVIEW COUNTRY STORE, 1146 Fairbank-Amish Blvd, Hazleton, IA 50641, phone 319-342-1000.  A classic Amish bulk food store offering everything from cookbooks to candies and flour to baked goods.

STUTZMAN’S BUGGY SHOP, 1273 Fairbank-Amish Blvd, Hazleton, IA 50641. Admittedly most non-Amish don’t have a real need to go into a buggy shop, but Leroy Stutzman’s business on Amish Boulevard specializes in fixing and making brand new buggies and as long as you are respectful of his time, visitors are welcome!

There’s also plenty to explore off of Amish Boulevard and we would encourage visitors to do just that.  You’ll find gems like Whispering Pines Bakery, 1407 145^th Street, Fairbank, IA 50629.  Viola only opens her bakery on Friday and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 a.m. and she’s legendary for her melt-in-your-mouth sweet rolls.

Kalona

The Kalona, Iowa Amish settlement is one of the largest and oldest west of the Mississippi River. With their liberal use of motorized tractors, this group is one of the more progressive Amish communities.

HISTORY AND INDEPTH

The gently rolling fields of southeast Iowa can’t really compare to other Amish settlements for sheer beauty, but there is a sense of history one soaks in when visiting this unique community.

The Amish first settled in the Kalona area in 1846 and for a number of years this was one of the most prominent communities west of the Mississippi.  In 1987, People Magazine ran an article about the abundance of Millers and Yoders in the community and how all the similar names gave the local mailman fits.   The article recounts:

"This isn't like a regular office you go into and memorize names," said postmaster Terry Hagedorn, with some understatement. "It's trickier." 

There are 17 Mary Millers in the Kalona area. Five Marlin Millers. Seven Barbara Millers. Twelve Mary Yoders. Five John Yoders. There is an L. David Yoder and a David L. Yoder. There are Alta and Alva Yoders and Vera, Verba and Verda Millers. There was a Miller Yoder, but he moved away. 

 In that same article, Kalona is called “the largest Amish community” west of the Mississippi.  That distinction probably now is held by Jamesport, Missouri or even Webster County in the Show-Me-State. But Kalona’s Amish community does roll out the welcome mat for visitors with a variety of business. The names seem a little more creative here. 

No “Emma’s Bakery” or “Yoder’s Pastry” here. The Golden Delight Bakery, 2289 Johnson-Washington Rd, Kalona, IA 52247, is an Amish-owned bakery.  And it is for the early birds, opening each day at 7 a.m. and staying open until 5 p.m.  This bakery is known for its homemade pies, breads, and hot glazed doughnuts.  Buy some doughnuts and then sit outside at one of their picnic tables and enjoy the surrounding Amish ambiance.

STRINGTOWN DRY GOODS (no one seems to know where the name comes from), 2266 540th Street, Kalona, Iowa 52247, is a bulk food and produce store that lures people from the collegiate enclave of Iowa City into the country side with their seasonal assortments from homegrown onions in the spring to apple cider and pumpkin butter in the fall.  Ready to eat homemade granola, bulk oatmeal, cheeses, and noodles, most locally made, can also be found.

KALONA CHEESE:  Known by its local name as simply “The Cheese Haus”, 2206 540^th Street SW, Kalona, Iowa 52247, phone 319-656-2776, this is a popular stop for those visiting the Kalona Amish settlement.  Although the cheese facility is not owned by Amish or Mennonites, there are Plain workers there and much of their milk comes from nearby Amish farms.  The Cheese Haus is located right in the heart of the Amish settlement so you’ll see a lot of buggies and well-kept farms en route.

The Cheese Haus stocks over 200 kinds of cheese in their retail store where customers can also watch the cheese being made through observation windows.   And for those who love cheese curds, Kalona Cheese is one of very few places in the country where customers can purchase fresh cheese curds that are made daily. In addition to cheese, the store also carries a variety of gourmet foods including meats, teas, jams, mustards, candies, and other hard to find items. Gift packages are shipped all over the United States. 

Visiting an Amish settlement is already in some ways like a step back in time, but take a step even farther back by visiting the Kalona Historical Village, 715 D Avenue, Kalona, IA 52247,  phone 319-656-3232.  Here you’ll find a pristinely restored village almost exactly as it was in the mid-1800s when this was still wild and woolly frontier country.  There is also a rich repository of documents and artifacts tying into the area’s Amish and Mennonite history, a sort of museum within a museum. 

The Kalona Historical Village is also host of the annual “autumn festival” held the final weekend of September.  The day includes old time demonstrations of homemade apple butter making, cornmeal grinding, broom making, hay baling and blacksmithing.  Admission to the festival is $8 for adults.

We recommend staying in Iowa City and enjoying the youth and energy of the quintessential college down before stealing away for the day among the Amish.  

📋 Other Amish Communities in Iowa

Albia

Cincinnati - This is a much smaller Cincinnati than its more prominent Ohio namesake. But there is a Plain presence here near the Missouri-Iowa border. According to the Global Anabaptist encyclopedia, In 2018 the church was a member of the Berea Amish Mennonite Fellowship and had a membership of 98. The bishop was Mark B. Miller, and the ministers were Henry R. Sommers and Roman Stutzman.

• Corydon
• Creston
• Dallas Center
• Delhi
• Edgewood
• Lamoni
• Lime Springs
• McIntire
• Reddington
• Wadena
• Williamsonon
• Winterset

⛪ Mennonites in Iowa

Plain Mennonites from various sects also have a sizable presence in Iowa. There is a huge Mennonite-run kitchenwares/cookware store in Cantril, Iowa.

The are Plain Mennonites in SW Iowa and a large population of conservative Groffdale Mennonites around Mason City. In 2012, a Mennonite teenage boy got dragged into the national headlines because he was issued a citation for driving a tractor on county roads, which local officials said damaged them. The case went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court who sided with the boy.The ruling stated:

The state's highest court has struck down Mitchell County's steel wheels ordinance, saying “religious rights prevail.”

The case pitted the religious practice of using steel wheels by the county's Mennonite population against a county ordinance banning use of the wheels on its paved roads.

Matthew Zimmerman, 13, of Orchard, was found guilty in 2010 by a Mitchell County magistrate of violating the county ordinance. He paid a fine, but his family appealed for a dismissal in district court. Judge Bryan McKinley upheld the magistrate's ruling. The Zimmermans then took their case to the high court.

The court pointed to the ordinance's lack of exact replication of state law which it said hurt the county's argument that it was acting neutrally.

“... the County declined in September 2009 to regulate various other sources of road damage besides steel wheels. Rather, it chose to prohibit only a particular source of harm to the roads that had religious origin,” the court said.

For example, the court said, state law contains various limits on the overall weight of vehicles and also limits weight per-inch of tire width. The county ordinance does not address those issues.

🛒 More Amish Businesses in Iowa

Cantril -The Dutchman's Store,  14999 Hwy 2. This is a Mennonite-owned business, but it is super popular with tourists and locals in this small town. The vast Dutchman's Store occupies a whole city block and is stocked with items for every cook

Corydon - Sewal Country Store - 2757 165th - An authentic Amish bakery and bulk food store. A reviewer says: Fried pies are amazing as well as the rest of the baked goods. Also the produce is exceptionally good, the selection does vary due to the local availability.

Delhi - Lakeside Furniture, 2406 IA-38, - 563-608-9908 - handcrafted Amish furniture from a more tech-friendly Amish community. The store has its own website which says: welcome to Lakeside Furniture and we're a local Amish furniture store here in Delhi, IA. We believe in building strong and solid furniture, offering handcrafted artistry, home interior, and outdoor furniture. We started this business with a passion to build high-quality furniture that will last a lifetime.

Delhi - Hartwick General Store (Amish). 2552 220th Ave, Delhi, IA 52223 - A classic Amish bulk food store and deli!

Edgewood - 25554 Horseshoe Rd - Horseshoe Variety Store, an old-fashioned, authentic Amish variety store.