Traveling Around Amish Country in New York's Southern Tier

On our drive to Allegany Mountain Resort,
Eric & I saw signs displaying a horse & buggy.








These signs warn drivers to watch for slow moving horse drawn vehicles.

Eric & I took a drive along

the Amish Trail.

The Amish are a Protestant sect with roots in the Protestant Reformation.  All Amish trace their religious and cultural heritage to Jakob Ammann's teachings. 

This farm wagon is drawn by
Draft Horses.






Draft Horses are bred to be large, heavy and muscular to pull heavy loads.

I noticed that buggies are pulled

by smaller, sleeker horses.

Seeing Amish getting around using horse drawn buggies, carriages and wagons, I assumed that these people reject technology.  There are no power lines connecting their homes and barns to provide electricity.  

Amish businesses display

signs.

Axeman Furniture

Leaders in Amish communities decide what technologies will be used.  It is not unusual for Amish farmers to use gas powered generators to produce electricity in their barns to do necessary farm work.  Many Amish have access to a communal telephone that is located in a separate building to make calls to conduct business or to call for help. 

A little girl & boy are along for

 the ride on this farm wagon.

Horse drawn buggies are

required to display an orange

triangle in New York State.

The Amish hire a person with a car to drive them when they travel outside of their communities.

Country View Furniture has

a more elaborate sign.

Since the 1960s Amish have been opening shops and running businesses from their homes.  Baked goods, crafts and quilts are very profitable.  Amish made furniture is prized and in demand.  Amish men work in businesses in small towns and travel to do construction work.  RV companies in Elkhart Indiana employs many Amish men.

A truck travels slowly behind

behind the farm wagon, waiting

for a chance to pass safely.

Some Amish communities are very conservative.  The use of modern technologies has been discussed and many found to be not compatible with Amish culture and traditions.  

A sign at the corner lists the

Amish businesses on

the road.

The Amish do not pose for photographs or own photographs of themselves or others. One of the reasons given is biblical.  There is a passage in Exodus forbidding the making of any graven image. (Exodus 20:4)  Amish culture prizes humility.  Having photos is believed to prideful and does not fit with the community's belief that individuals must defer to others.

From the hats, I can tell that
two men are in this carriage.

Signs for an Amish craft shop

& for Maple Syrup.

The Amish live in twenty-eight states and Ontario Province in Canada.  Their culture, though simple is rich with traditions.