This is an Amish home in the Berne, Indiana community (Adams County). This would be the largest group of the generally conservative “Swiss Amish”. Depending on when you read this, the home and farm you see here will soon find itself – or may have already found – a new owner.
This is a home destined for auction, so there’s no big price reveal at the end, like we usually do here. The property actually goes up for sale today (in just an hour or two after this post goes live). Here’s the simple description via Zillow:
Beautiful 30 acre farm to be offered at public auction on September 29, 2023 @ 6:30 pm. This property features a 4,000 sq ft Home – 42×60 Barn w/ 24×30 lean-to – 40×64 Shed w/ Living Quarters – 32×64 Woodworking Shop w/ Finish Room – 31×150 Hog Facility – Tillable land – Fenced pasture.
The home has three bedrooms and it is said to have bathrooms as well – one and a half of them (though outhouses are used in this community, and one appears to be visible in the above photo).
We don’t have a huge collection of interior photos for this home, just a handful. There is also one interesting photo of a second living area which I’ll show you in a minute. But let’s look at the kitchen first, one of the few shots from inside:
This shows a very tidy and pleasant kitchen. Wood cabinets as you’d expect to see in Amish homes, but not especially fancy ones. An oil lamp on a wall pedestal, ubiquitous Amish calendar, and laundry line just outside the window panes round out this characteristic Amish look.
Look more closely at the sink and you’ll notice something is missing, however. Do you see it? (Or rather, not see it?)
Moving on, we pull back from the sink and cabinet area to take in more of the full kitchen.
If you’ve been in an Amish kitchen you’ll recognize the cover typically used on tables – oilcloth. Tough, resistant and easy to wipe down, so perfect for a large Amish family.
There’s one more shot from the inner part of this dwelling – a cozy living area with rockers and stove. Dried flowers (are they roses?) that actually look a little burnt nevertheless add a decorative touch.
A quick zoom-in gives us a closer look at this interesting bit of the room. See that on the wall, with what looks like three clock faces stacked vertically?
That appears to be a combination thermometer-barometer-hygrometer. That last one measures humidity, if you hadn’t heard of it. Three handy things that an Amish farmer might want to track. Here’s a closer look at one (albeit Celsius version):
That’s about it for inside, no photos of bedrooms, basem*nt, etc. But I can show you the other living area I was talking about. This looks like a full living setup in one of the property’s numerous buildings. Sitting area, kitchen, eating area, likely a sleeping area behind the white curtain/wall.
It appears another family might be living here, perhaps a very young one. Another possibility is the grandparents, but I’d expect they would have set up something more permanent than this. And this stroller you see in the center of the next image is another giveaway that this is young family, probably a couple with their first child.
And here’s a closer view of the kitchen area of this shop home:
A few other photos from the property. Here’s the woodworking shop. What sorts of things do they build here?
The garage with fleet of buggies. And looks like a good supply of soda (aka “pop”) under the stairs there.
The Amish here use scooters like those used in Lancaster County, there’s one on the back wall.
Another look at the home.
Barn.
Beautiful view across this field. It’s not the biggest farm when it comes to Amish properties, but it doesn’t exactly feel “small”.
I’ll leave you with the overhead view showing the layout of this 30-acre property:
So as mentioned above, by the time you read this, this farm and home may very well have already been sold. Someone or someones will have had a very exciting day. Congrats to the buyer!
