(calming music continues) (calming music continues) - The Amish Heritage Center is a not-for-profit foundation that was set up in 1995 on the 300-year anniversary of the beginning of the Amish movement.

(light upbeat music) An Amish owner of this land was willing to part with seven and a half acres so that we could develop this campus and we're deeply grateful.

Now we have a nice seven and a half acre campus here with a real farmstead, very central setting, right on a highway that's easy to find for visitors.

(light upbeat music) Well, the house where we are located now was built in 1880.

We're ready to demolish the house and build a new one on its location.

And because of its historical significance, we asked if he would be willing to donate it to our foundation.

And he was.

(light upbeat music) The other house across the driveway called the Bulls Yoder house was also to donated to us by an Amish family - Called the Yoder House.

And it was the first Amish built house in the community by Mose Yoder, which is my great great grandfather.

This area right here was for the, they had their services, their church services in the house.

And so the preacher would stand here and the ladies would be over here and the men would be over here and that would have their church service here.

(light upbeat music) - Another Amish family had a one room schoolhouse called the German School.

So we were fortunate that a family donated one of the German schools first built in 1900.

- We are in the German school built over 1900 years ago.

Everything's original in this building, including the paint.

This is a coal burning stove.

All the desks, the flooring, everything is original from 110 years ago.

Our tour guide here, he went to school here and then he taught school here and now he's giving tour guides here.

So it's kind of original and we're really fortunate to have him and he's still old order Amish.

(light upbeat music) - The Amish, again, who've been very supportive of what we're doing because of the way we go about it, giving a true educational encounter with the Amish culture.

(light upbeat music) We decided to build a 10,000 square foot museum and welcome center.

And that is now under construction, hope to have it completed next year.

It's going to be a welcome center and a museum.

And so we get about 400,000 visitors a year to the Amish community that are here to observe and learn from the Amish.

- So why is it important that we are building this?

It's a way to show visitors, give them a glimpse into the inside of the Amish life without having to more or less expose the Amish to being in an exhibit, if you will.

(light upbeat music) Moses Yoder was my wife's fifth great-grandfather and he was one of the earliest settlers in this area of the Amish settlers.

So I actually have a personal connection to that.

It's a way of having my own personal touch, I guess, on the story of the Amish, it's my contribution, however small it might be.

This is one way to kind of set the record straight and kind of do an accurate representation of who the Amish are.

(light upbeat music) - It is a very unique culture living, you know, in a 18th century style.

The amazing thing is that, you know, without adopting all of the conveniences of modern life, including electricity, telephone, cars, internet, they can have a very successful and prosperous future.

Quite a number of people come here now already who vaguely know their great-grandfather was Amish, but we don't know much about what that is.

So they come and we can help connect them to the line of descent.

A lot of people leave appreciating the fact they were able to step into a rather calm, non-hectic environment.

(light upbeat music) It gives visitors to the community a more complete encounter with the Amish culture and Amish religious beliefs.

And that's important to the visitors.

They go away knowing more than when they came.

I think this will give an alternative view for people who want to learn that you can have a happy life without being plugged into all of that.

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