Kalona Old Order Amish Settlement (Kalona, Iowa, USA)
The Kalona Old Order Amish Settlement is in Johnson and Washington Counties in eastern Iowa. The first Amish settlers arrived in 1846, migrating from settlements in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Amish families who chose to push on west beyond the developing northern Indiana settlement located in this Iowa community because of its rich farming potential. The Kalona community is the largest Amish-Mennonite settlement west of the Mississippi River. In 1987 the population was stable with seven church districts (congregations) serving more than 1,200 people. The Kalona settlement is known for its contribution of many persons who have gone on to become leaders in the Mennonite Church or who have distinguished themselves in the scholarly professions. A number of Amish families in 1914 left the Kalona area to establish a new community (Hazelton) in Buchanan County 75 miles (140 km.) to the north, in order to regain more traditional and conservative church discipline.
In 2015 the settlement had 10 districts. In 2010 it had a total population of more than 1,400 persons. The Kalona settlement was known from its acceptance of a greater range of technology than found in many Old Order Amish communities, including the use of metal-wheeled tractors in field work, power lawn mowers and rototillers.
Bibliography
Amish America. "Iowa Amish." 2017. Web. 1 August 2017. http://amishamerica.com/iowa-amish/.
Donnermeyer, Joseph F., et al. "The Amish Population: County Estimates and Settlement Patterns of the 'Old Orders'" Paper presented at the 75th annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Palmer House, Chicago, Illinois (27 July 2012): 41.
Karlan Keim Family. Amish Communities of Iowa/Minnesota 2015. Drakesville, Iowa: Karlan Keim Family, 2015: 219-309.
| Author(s) | Samuel L. Yoder |
|---|---|
| Sam Steiner | |
| Date Published | August 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Yoder, Samuel L. and Sam Steiner. "Kalona Old Order Amish Settlement (Kalona, Iowa, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2017. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kalona_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Kalona,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=153819.
APA style
Yoder, Samuel L. and Sam Steiner. (August 2017). Kalona Old Order Amish Settlement (Kalona, Iowa, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kalona_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Kalona,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=153819.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 475. All rights reserved.
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