Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort- Nappanee, Indiana

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Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort- Nappanee, Indiana

In this restored Amish farm area you can explore the historic eighty acre farm and heritage resort and experience the lifestyle of the Amish.  You will have the opportunity to take guided tours as you view the documentary films, walk the oaken floorboards of the 125 year old Amish homestead, and take a leisurely farm wagon ride around the 80 acre farm. You'll learn the whys and ways of the Amish as your guide winds you through the twelve room white frame house, the Grossdaadi Haus, the Schwietzer bank barn and inviting outbuildings. You'll experience the sights and sounds of a working farm, alive with barnyard hens, livestock, gardens and apple orchard.

The Stahly-Nissley-Kuhns farmstead, the only Amish farm listed in The National Register of Historic Places is the center point of Amish Acres restoration.

The Amish Acres opened in 1970 to share the life of the Amish with visitors since the Amish are a very private people and prefer to be left alone (not be bothered by tourists) the farm is an excellent way to see what their life is like.

You join your guide at the gate with the dinner bell following the documentary films Genesis and Exodus of the Amish, and Bonnets and Britches for the children. As you walk together through the orchard, past the kitchen garden, you come upon the outbuildings that dry food, bake bread, and smoke meat. Here lye soap is made from the rendered lard and leached lye.

The rest of the tour consists of seeing the other buildings such as the pioneer's two room house and see the practical furnishings, cook stove, and kitchenware that make up the life of the Amish even today.

There is a washhouse that contains both iron and copper kettles, cistern pump, egg incubator and pie safe. There are probably a few of these things that you aren't familiar with if you didn't grow up on a farm.

You will go to the main house where you will see a more comfortable and roomy gathering place.  The connected pantry features built in sugar and flour bins and canned fruit and vegetable shelves.  You will see the keroscene lanterns and teh hardwood floors with their rag rugs.

You will be able to tour the upstairs with the guest room, rope beds featuring feather and straw ticks.  There are dressers with no mirrors and the heat comes from the stove downstairs through an iron grate in the floor.

You will be able to tour the barn, the wagon shed, the ice house, Kuhns cider and grist mill, the Walnut street house, and the German one room schoolhouse.  You can also take the tractor pulled wagon ride through the farm’s woods.

Location: 1600 W Market St., Nappanee, IN  46550

Phone: 800.800.4942