McMinnville Old Order Amish Settlement (McMinnville, Oregon, USA)
The Yamhill County, Oregon, Old Order Amish settlement began in November 1895 when Tobias T. Yoder relocated to Yamhill County from nearby Clackamas County. Within a year there were four families in the new settlement, with two more more planning a move in early 1897. The address of the settlement was McMinnville, the county seat of Yamhill County.
David C. Schrock was the first minister to reside in the new settlement, moving there from neighboring Clackamas County by 1897. In June 1898 Bishop Daniel Beachy of Arthur, Illinois and Bishop Eli E. Bontrager of Shipshewana, Indiana visited the Oregon Old Order Amish in Clackamas and Yamhill counties. Bontrager led an ordination service for the McMinnville congregation, with Tobias T. Yoder chosen as minister. A year later Yoder was ordained as a bishop. In 1898 seven families lived in the settlement.
Although the area was agriculturally productive in grain and fruit, the settlement remained small, with frequent leadership changes. David C. Schrock moved to Ohio in 1902 and Tobias T. Yoder left for Oklahoma the same year. David Y. Miller was ordained as minister soon after, and Bishop David D. Schlabach moved to the area in 1909, only to leave again in three years. After some controversy about drinking that surfaced in the Sugarcreek Budget, Miller moved to California in the fall of 1913 with half of the remaining settlement.
After a gap of two years, Alvin M. Beachy was chosen as minister. The California settlement had lasted only a year, and some families returned to the McMinnville settlement, including some former leaders. However, by 1922 all the ordained leaders had again moved away. By 1926 only five families remained. The Old Order Amish settlement in Clackamus County had already ended in 1907.
No Old Order Amish were left in Oregon by 1930, though another effort to establish a settlement began in 1936, but also ended by 1961. It's membership in 1955 had been 35.
Bibliography
Luthy, David. The Amish in America: Settlements that Failed, 1840-1960. Aylmer, ON: Pathway Publishers, 1986: 396-400.
Luthy, David. Why some Amish Communities Fail: Extinct Settlements, 1961-2011. Aylmer, ON: Pathway Publishers, 2011: 22.
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Daniel E. Miller. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 433. All rights reserved.
The McMinnville, Yamhill County (Oregon), Old Order Amish settlement, located near McMinnville, consisting of 60 members, dates back to 1895, when the families of David Schrock, Amos Schrock, Tobias T. Yoder, Joseph Christner, and Jacob K. Miller moved there from the neighborhood of Hubbard, Marion County, Oregon. The congregation was organized in 1896 with Tobias Yoder as bishop and David Yoder as minister. Other ordained men who served the congregation were David Y. Miller, Daniel E. Miller, David D. Schlabach, and Daniel Coblentz. The settlement died out twice, 1904-1906 and 1927-1928, but was reorganized in both cases. In 1955 the membership was 35, with Menno Swartzentruber serving as bishop and Samuel Weaver as minister.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | July 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "McMinnville Old Order Amish Settlement (McMinnville, Oregon, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2017. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=McMinnville_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(McMinnville,_Oregon,_USA)&oldid=165313.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (July 2017). McMinnville Old Order Amish Settlement (McMinnville, Oregon, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=McMinnville_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(McMinnville,_Oregon,_USA)&oldid=165313.
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