Conewango Valley Old Order Amish Settlement (Cattaraugus County, New York, USA)
The Conewango Valley Old Order Amish Settlement in Cattaraugus County, sometimes called the Oldtown community, is located 50 miles (80 km.) south of Buffalo. The Oldtown community is the oldest and largest of the 48 Amish settlements in New York (2012). It was founded in 1949 by families from Holmes County, Ohio, and the Enon Valley in Pennsylvania who were seeking cheaper farm land and greater freedom to practice certain rules and regulations of the Amish church. There has been slow but steady growth in the Conewango Valley; many families have moved in and out of this settlement. Dairy farming and the building trades are the main occupations. In 1986 there were eight church districts (congregations) with more than 1,000 people. The later New York settlements were all established after the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Versus Yoder on school attendance, indicating the migrations to New York may have been the result of liberal state guidelines for the operation of private church schools.
| Author(s) | Samuel L Yoder |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Yoder, Samuel L. "Conewango Valley Old Order Amish Settlement (Cattaraugus County, New York, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2012. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Conewango_Valley_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Cattaraugus_County,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=149179.
APA style
Yoder, Samuel L. (2012). Conewango Valley Old Order Amish Settlement (Cattaraugus County, New York, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Conewango_Valley_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Cattaraugus_County,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=149179.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 181. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.