Amish Country: Faster Than a Speeding Buggy

We highly recommend the Ephrata Cloister and the town of Intercourse. In fact, when we were in the latter, we felt that it would be worth an overnight here to better explore Amish country. The town has a lot to offer other than its name, which has been the butt of a lot of jokes. But then, it's in a small geographical area with towns called Virginville, Blue Ball and Bird-in-Hand, so it's no big deal.

What you will notice is the farm prosperity in the area. There is little to choose between the Amish farms and those of their neighbours except the cars in the driveway.

Quick Tips:

I would say that a stay along SR340 between Lancaster and Intercourse would give you access to a lot of things, from buggy rides to gift shops to historical sites.

Do see Ephrata Cloister, and remember it is on the south end of town.

Best Way To Get Around:

This is for drivers, but along SR340 there are several places where you can pick up a buggy ride. Some take you along the highway (avoid), some take you to the farm country off the highway. There are a number of companies offering bus tours through this area.

In the heart of a community of large, comfortable homes sits Wheatland, the home of the fifteenth President, James Buchanan. Built in 1828, it predates its neighbours. It was twenty years old when Buchanan moved in with his family, two orphaned children, a niece, and a nephew. It was from this house that Buchanan moved to Washington in 1856 and returned on the eve of the civil war in 1860.

Buchanan had been a successful lawyer who had served in Congress, had been Minister to Russia for Andrew Jackson, and Minister to Great Britain for Franklin Pierce. He was secretary-of-state for James Polk and negotiated the acquisition of the American West. With all that experience, his greatest task, the prevention of an imminent war between the states was left incomplete--he had said he would serve but one term and he was true to his word.

The visit here is by tour. It is an excellent house that's, for the most part, true to its period. It is not grand as much as it is livable (except perhaps for the sight of the brick outhouse between the visitor reception (the former stables) and the house proper). The traveler enters through the back door which leads into the main hall which culminates in the main entrance. The remarkable thing here is that over half the furniture is original to Buchanan’s tenancy. Again, it’s not ostentatious, it is the home of a successful man of the time. Buchanan ran his campaign for the presidency out of the house, writing letters to men who were influential enough in their own constituencies to be able to sway the vote. During the campaign period, there were literally hundreds of visitors. As a consequence, the most interesting room is probably the library where Buchanan entertained the political figures of his day. The other major rooms are full of mementos of Buchanan’s time here and are what one would expect, not large, but gracious. This is a full tour of two floors, not much is out of bounds.

Buchanan is still the only bachelor president. His hostess was Harriet Lane, the orphaned niece who had come to live with him in 1842. The house contains her bedroom as it was when she lived there. Buchanan died in the house, either in his own room or in the airy and isolated housekeeper’s suite (which most of us agreed was one of the more comfortable and cheery rooms in the house). The house had other tenants after Buchanan’s death in 1868; fortunately, people moved, not necessarily furniture. A number of pieces, including an entire china service, have been returned to the house so it appears as a satisfactory whole. Worth visiting.

Landis Valley Museum stands as a monument to the German settlers who came to Southeastern Pennsylvania. They became the Pennsylvania Germans, speaking a dialect unique to them as well as, eventually, English. There are a number of unrelated Landis families who settled in the area and the descendents of one of them, brothers George and Henry Landis, founded the museum. They had engineering backgrounds but were fascinated by their heritage and became collectors of Pennsylvania German artifacts, eventually founding the museum. Their collection became massive, and part of it is now on display at the site.

The museum is off Route 272, and if the lady running the museum shop at Ephrata hadn’t told us to look for a graveyard on the right surrounding a Mennonite church, we probably would have driven right by. The woman at the Landis reception counter reckoned that this was normal, but people seemed to find it, mostly because, I suspect, they are looking hard for it.

There is a tour--we were there in September and I can’t say whether or not the tour changes in summer, but our tour was to visit four buildings on site. We saw the Log Farm (a recreation of a farm of the 1760s and a working farm), the Country Store (the Landis brothers had collected an enormous amount of consumer goods and there is a lot of stuff in that store), the Landis Brother’s House and Stable (the house looks a lot better than it did, apparently, when they lived here--the collection has been removed to other places), and a tavern. We did have entry into six other buildings on the site including a transportation building and the Jacob Landis House, but we found the exhibits to be sparse. There were still a couple of artisans working on the site, a weaver, and a gun-maker and I’m sure that in summer and at the right times of day, the visitor would find the print shop and the tin-smith in operation.

My wife and I were mulling over the visit last night, having been back home for about a week. We agreed that it had been a waste of time and money. If you have never seen a decent recreation of a settler town or community, and there are many that are larger than this, then you might enjoy the Landis Museum. If you have children who have never seen a calf or who really want an explanation of how to make a musket, they may enjoy it as well (or perhaps I grow jaded). This feels like a Sunday drive or school tour site.

Ephrata is a lovely town with wide sidewalks and historic buildings… on its southern edge lies the Ephrata cloister. I have always had an interest in history, religion, and why people do the things they do, so I enjoyed this site immensely. Perhaps one of the reasons was that the guide, who belonged to the denomination that founded the cloister and was gowned in the robe that might have been worn on the site at one time, was knowledgeable and insightful.

It all goes with the influx of Germans, Swiss, and Dutch who fled religious oppression in their homelands. Conrad Beissel was a baker who had a religious awakening and along with so many others, he came to Pennsylvania in 1720. His religion became a driving force in his life and he decided to devote his life to worship, but he had come to believe two things--worship should take place on Saturday and a relationship with God left no room for marital relationships. Apparently, Beissel was extraordinarily charismatic and people joined him on the banks of Cocalico Creek to found a community. The community contained two groups of people--the Solitary, who respected the concept of celibacy and lived communally and the Householders who lived in normal marital relationships on the farms nearby. The economic prosperity of the latter supported the zealousness of the former.

The visitor will be taken, first of all, to the home of Conrad Beissel. It is small, unornamented, and used as a tour focal point rather than a display. It sat between Saron, the Sisters’ House, and Bethania, the Brothers’ House. The sisters’ house is still on site and provides an interesting insight into life at the cloister. Each sister lived in a cell or chamber, sleeping on a board 15 inches wide with a wooden block for a pillow. Food was taken communally in an existence that we today would find harsh.

Next to Saron is the meetinghouse, which is still occasionally used today for worship. Apparently, shortly before we arrived, a love feast was held on the meetinghouse. The church is now called the German Seventh Day Baptist Church--there are still two parishes off site. The love feast is a gathering of worship, but it includes a meal cooked in the historic kitchen off the meetinghouse and the washing of feet.

The site itself isn’t grand. The traveler begins at the Visitor Center where there is a video available and then the tour. The buildings that remain are interesting, but this wasn’t a case of many, many things to see--this is a place of ideas, history, and religion. It was fascinating. Needless to say, celibacy isn’t a great way to build a church, and the last of the Solitary passed away in 1813, leaving the cloister in the care of the Householders. For the rest of the story--how the charter was lost in 1934 and why love feasts are still held here--you’ll have to visit. I’m out of words.

Rolling out of Lancaster on SR340, the traveler arrives in Bird-in-Hand. There aren’t a lot of things to do here, but do drop into the Old Village Store. It is deceptive--there appear to be two buildings, the village store and a hardware store side-by-side. . .wrong! It’s quite the little complex. First of all it’s a century plus general store that has grown like topsy. There are a number of such stores in the area, but the Old General Store is a gift shop of the type that you don’t mind walking into. There are things here that you might buy for yourself or offer as gifts, mixed in with those things are the silly things, the street signs pointing you to Intercourse or Blue Ball etc.

After the first section of the store, the visitor crosses a "covered bridge" where it is claimed that it is good luck to kiss when crossing (restrain yourselves, there are children here) and that takes you to, oh, more gift shop. And it goes on and on. . .candles, incense, gift items, all in good taste (except for those street signs). It gradually occurs to you that you have left the original Old Village Store and are passing through the building behind it and sure enough, in no time at all, you’re walking into a fully-functioning but somehow country, hardware store. In retrospect, it is well done. You’ll find it on the left-hand side when you are driving east.

I know that it’s not the Amish who are making money selling take-offs on the "I heart New York" ,or whatever towns appear on such mementos, signs. So it’s not hard to resist the "I Love Intercourse" mementos, most of which are made in the Far East. You can avoid them at The People’s Place. First of all, there is "The Old Country Store". You may never have thought about buying a quilt before, but after a brief visit, you will be sure that you have to have one from the large collection here. Absolutely beautiful! Prices ranged from $500 to $1000 for full sizes, but I’ve never seen such an incredible collection. The quilts are not the only things for sale here, but like much of what is available, it is the product of Mennonite and Amish hands. A great place for a souvenir. Upstairs, by the way, there is the People’s Place Quilt Museum with a display of antique quilts (admission charged). Quilter's paradise.

Still part of the People’s Place, across the street a three-screen theatre shows a film Who are the Amish?. It is shown every half-hour and is worth seeing. Attached to the theatre there is a nice gallery, and again, everything here is worthwhile. There is nothing cheap or tawdry.

You could actually miss this place, or not pay attention to it. From SR340 you only see a sign and a parking lot. The size of the parking lot should be a hint. The brag here is that there are 39 country shopkeepers. The reason that you might want to drop in is that the quality is fairly high and it’s a great place to buy a gift, a souvenir, or something for the house.

Village Outfitters features Woolrich clothing. Deerskin Leather features their own work as well as brand names such as Birkinstock. Garnett Pottery features their own work and that of other local potters. Cloverfield’s sells locally made cloth items, and on it goes. There are a number of places featuring edibles, everything from nuts to smoked meat to jams and salad dressings, with everything done on-site. For a laugh, go into the Clubhouse (gifts for men), for your garden, go to the Garden Gate.

I really enjoyed the area. It was clean, attractive, and comfortable. Drop in.