Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rooms are a far cry from the sparse-yet-appealing Amish austerity that otherwise prevails
in these parts.
Did you know…
With the approach of the bicentennial in 1976, Americans became very interes-
ted in their past and in the process discovered the unique art of Amish quilting.
Because many of the Amish women spend time gardening and helping with the
farming during the warmer months, they spend most of the winter sewing.
4.
Berlin
About five miles east of Millersburg, a turnoff on Rte. 557 leads south to the aptly named
villageofCharm.Surroundedbylush,rollingfarmland,Charmmakesyoufeelasifyou've
wandered into a Grant Wood painting. Amish farms are limited in size to the amount of
land that a single family can work without modern machinery, and each rise in the road
willrevealasmanyasadozenfarmsteads,theirsimplewhitehouses,hugedairybarns,and
neatly furrowed fields laid out as precisely as the squares on a checkerboard.
Returning to Rte. 39 east, the drive soon reaches another farming town, Berlin, where
visitors can learn about the Amish and their Anabaptist kin, the Mennonites. Stop at the
Mennonite Information Center, located on County Road 77, just off Rte. 39. Its chief at-
tractionisagrandcyclorama,orcircularpainting.Measuring10feethighby265feetlong,
this magnificent mural depicts the heritage of the Amish and Mennonite people from their
mutual origins in medieval Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525 to the present.
Aboutonemileeastoftown,aformerAmishfarmofferstours,buggyrides,quilt-mak-
ing demonstrations, and a pondside that makes a great spot for a picnic.
5.
Sugarcreek
Of all the picturesque towns that can be seen along the drive, perhaps none is as distinctive
as Sugarcreek. Nicknamed The Little Switzerland of Ohio, Sugarcreek really does conjure
up the flavor of a Swiss village. Here you may find yourself bobbing to the beat of polka
music that drifts out from the town's storefronts, all colorfully decorated with appealing
alpine scenes.
Sugarcreek is also the departure point for the Ohio Central Railroad, which offers
tours of Amish country. The depot is on Factory Street, not far from the local McDon-
ald's—equipped with hitching posts to accommodate Amish horse-drawn buggies.
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