Buchanan Amish affiliation


The Buchanan Amish affiliation is a subgroup of Amish that was formed in 1914 in Buchanan County, Iowa. It is among the most conservative in the entire Amish world. It is the fourth largest of all Amish affiliations, having almost as many church districts as the Holmes Old Order Amish affiliation. Geographically it is more dispersed than any other Amish affiliation.

History

The Buchanan Amish affiliation emerged in 1914 when seven families from the Kalona Amish settlement in Johnson County, Iowa, moved to Buchanan County, seeking a more conservative church discipline. Later they were joined by families from Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana and other places. In 1912 there had been a conflict over the use of telephones in the Kalona Amish settlement that led to a division in which many change-minded families had left the Old Oder church to establish a more liberal Amish Mennonite church.
Part of the conflict about compulsory education past 8th grade — which was settled by the Wisconsin v. Yoder case of the United States Supreme Court — took place among the Buchanan affiliation in Buchanan County. The famous photo of November 1965, showing Amish school children running into a cornfield to flee the police, was taken in Buchanan County.

Customs and belief

There is a very limited use of technology among the Buchanan affiliation, quite similar to the Swartzentruber Amish and the Swiss Amish of Adams County, Indiana. The Buchanan Amish affiliation was known in the 1980s for its conservatism and slowness to change their customs. They do not allow running water in homes, flush toilets, bath tubs, pneumatic tools, chainsaws, bicycles and scooters. For more details, see below:
AffiliationTractor for fieldworkRoto- tillerPower lawn mowerPropane gasBulk milk tankMecha- nical milkerMecha- nical refri- geratorPickup balersInside flush toiletRunning water bath tubTractor for belt powerPneumatic toolsChain sawPres- surized lampsMotorized washing machines
Percentage of use
by all Amish		62025303535405070707070759097
SwartzentruberNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoSomeNoNoYes
Swiss NoNoSomeNoNoNoNoNoSomeNoNoSomeSomeSomeSome
Buchanan/MedfordNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoSomeNoYesYes
Andy Weaver/DanNoNoNoNo*NoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Holmes Old OrderNoSomeSomeNo*NoNoSomeYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Elkhart-LaGrangeNoSomeSomeSomeSomeSomeSomeSomeYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
LancasterNoNoSomeYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Nappanee, IndianaNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Kalona, IowaYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
* Natural gas allowed

Settlements and districts

In 2011 the Buchanan affiliation was present in 19 states in 67 settlements with 140 church districts. It represents about 7 percent of the Old Order Amish population, that is about 20,000 people out of about 300,000 in 2015. It is present in more states than any other Amish affiliation and with 67 settlements it has the most settlements of all Amish affiliations.

Literature