As civilization sped quickly by along Hwy. 181 in Todd County, an intimate and emotional crowd gathered Thursday morning — just a quarter-mile south of Penchem Tack Store.
It’s here, after years of waiting, where local officials joined with the Kentucky Historical Society to properly dedicate the state’s first-ever Amish community by placement of an educational marker.
Established courtesy of Bishop Simon Yoder and associates some 65 years ago, an emotional and retired Bishop Daniel Beachy of the North District Amish Church spoke of a group that, all those years ago, besought leaders in Frankfort to help them find suitable farmland for a homestead.
They were pointed to southern Christian, Todd and Logan counties, and it was Guthrie’s location to springs and natural roads the Amish found suitable.
So did Beachy, who’s been in the area for multiple generations.
Through funding from the Guthrie Tourism Commission and Historic Todd County Inc., HTC President Glenn Slack noted there had long been a need to increase the public awareness and appreciation of this region. It’s the 12th such state marker in Todd County and fifth of the Modern Era, alongside the likes of markers for famed author Robert Penn Warren and former Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis.
Throngs of locals and tourists, he said, visit Todd County for places like Penchem Tack Store, the County Pantry and Schlabach’s Bakery — making it the hub of Amish culture in the Commonwealth.
But there’s so much more.
Representing the Todd County Fiscal Court, Magistrate Billy Bryant called the Amish community integral to the region’s commercial success.
Gary Violette, Todd County historian, took a step back in time — just as this part of south western Kentucky started truly developing into a rich, ripe place to reap.
Dr. James Seaver, Kentucky Historical Society community engagement coordinator, said he understood Thursday’s significance. He grew up in a family full of quilters, had visited Lancaster, Pennsylvania as a child and could grasp the depth of Amish culture having lived near Casey County, Kentucky.
Quilts, he said, symbolize the beauty, the dedication, the simplicity, the design and the hard work that goes into them. And it’s a metaphor for the Amish foundations.
Seaver further noted that he came on to KHS last August, and that the wait for this marker project “might take the cake” as one of the longest on an important docket, now more than 2,400 strong from Pikeville to Paducah, and from Hickman to Highland Heights.
News Edge and Ag Edge intern Kinley Deason contributed considerably for this report.
