A SHORT HISTORY OF AMISH ACRES
In 1839, widow Barbara Stahly and her five sons immigrated from Germany and settled in the southwest corner of Elkhart County. According to University of Chicago historian James Landing, this makes the Stahly family likely the first Amish settlers in Indiana. By 1873, son Christian had acquired 80 acres of land and, in 1874, proceeded to build a house and barn, to establish a farm for his son, Moses. In 1893 Moses’ father-in-law built the main house. When Moses decide to move to Kansas, he sold the farm to his wife’s cousin, Noah Nisly, who, at his retirement sold it to his son-in-law, Manasses Kuhns. The farm, being in sound condition, was purchased from the Kuhns family estate for the purpose of restoring the structures and preserving the traditions of the Amish settlers who lovingly farmed and cared for the property. After a year of intense and meticulous work of restoring the buildings and property, Amish Acres was opened to the public in 1970. It is the only Amish farm listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
