Wunderlust Out of Holmes County
An Amish Boy's Passion For Adventure And Knowledge
A MEMOIR by Henry Troyer
The Amish of Holmes County
This is the largest settlement of Amish anywhere. The settlement extends far beyond the Holmes County itself. Many of the Amish live north in Wayne County, east in Tuscarawas County and south in Coshocton County and a little bit into the corner of Stark County. .
The Amish of Holmes County are not unified. There are seven different horse-and-buggy Amish groups ranging from the most conservative (Swartzentruber Amish) to the most progressive (New Order Amish). About two-thirds of the Amish are of the Main Line group who trace their lineage back uninterrupted to the original immigrant Amish people.
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Below some of the characteristics of the Amish community are illustrated with graphics.
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The Appendix of the book contains more demographic characteristics of the Holmes County Amish,.
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Total Fertility Rate
Amish Distribution
Amish Groups
This map is a layout of the Holmes County Amish community showing roughly the distribution of the Amish among the 26 townships.
The average fertility rate for the different Amish groups varies widely, but it correlates roughly with the degree of conservatism of the group.
This figure shows the historic relationships of the seven Amish groups occupying the Holmes County Amish community.