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Turn your automobile into a time machine. Point your wheels southeast and in about three hours, you will arrive at a place taking you back in time.
Welcome to Ohio’s Amish Country. The clip-clop sound of horses along the highways is as common as homestyle restaurants that dish up fried chicken and homemade pie.
Navigating winding roads and hills demands concentration to resist gazing at immaculate countryside, stunning scenery and charming farms throughout this part of Ohio.
Roads are shared with Amish people riding in horse-drawn buggies.
“Every time we stayed, we’ve enjoyed it,” says visitor Aaron Haubt from outside Columbus. Haubt and his wife spent a few nights at the cozy Grapevine Bed & Breakfast in Winesburg. The restored house built in 1934 opened to the public in 1995. “What makes this area unique in your mind and different from other parts of the state is the slower pace. There’s more peace.”
Sugarcreek is called “Little Switzerland” and boasts the world’s largest cuckoo clock. Nearby Millersburg is home to Coblentz Leather. The shop features handmade wallets, purses, hats and belts made in the store. Customers shopping in the front of the building can witness employees making items by hand through large windows that showcase production.
An amazing nearby historic stop is The Warther Museum and Gardens in Dover. The museum preserves and displays the exceptional woodcarvings of steam engines by Earnest Mooney Warther. The master carver used ivory, ebony and walnut to make his intricate and accurate reproductions of steam engines. Director Carol Warther Moreland says the Great Northern Locomotive completed in 1933 is her favorite piece. “This carving was done out of ebony, the second hardest wood in the world. It contains a lot of carving done on the inside and underneath the engine that people can’t see. This is to make the engine anatomically correct and to mechanize it to operate. His carving ability is unmatched on this piece.” The stunning display of locomotives also includes the Abraham Lincoln funeral train. Not to be missed is Mrs. Warther’s button collection, featuring more than 73,000 buttons in patterns. Guided tours are available and as many as 100,000 patrons visit the museum annually.
One tiny town is home to a giant general store. Lehman’s of Kidron features more than 14,000 products from apple peelers to Zoat soap. Customers find unique toys and tools that do not require electric power. Their motto is “to stand for a simpler life” and a helpful staff provide a personalized shopping experience far different than a traditional big box store.
Berlin is a quaint shopping mecca dotted with old-fashioned antique and gift shops, ice cream and bakery stores and even a Ukrainian restaurant. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and blueberry pie are on the menu at local eateries like Boyd & Wurthmann, which opened in 1938. It can be crowded but one customer remarked, “it’s worth the wait!” Larger restaurants include Berlin Farmstead with a buffet, market and baked items owned by Dutchman Hospitality Group. Suggestion: don’t miss the pecan rolls.
Exploring the area means spending at least one full day and night but there’s plenty of reasons to opt for an extended stay.
