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Tucked into Northern Indiana, near the Michigan border, is a tiny town of less than 900 people. Shipshewana, named after a Potawatomi chief, is a small town, full of character! The people of this town have melded with the Amish families living in the same area, bringing different cultures and beliefs together.
The Midwest has its fair share of Amish communities, and some appear more abundant and thriving than others. In Ohio, we have several communities that I’ve visited, by dining in their restaurants, shopping in their stores or visiting their “Safaris.” Each community shares the same values and customs, however, you can see their individuality when visiting each location.
LODGING
There are a few different places to stay when visiting this small town. You could stay at the one of the local hotels, whether it be the Blue Gate Inn, where we stayed, or the Van Buren Hotel, or you can stay at the North Park Campground. For a list of more places, click here.
Each stay will bring a different experience, so I absolutely plan on visiting again and trying a different location!
SHOPS
Even with how small this town is, there were a TON of shops to choose from. Some of the shops that I visited were Our Front Porch, Eash, Simple Sounds and Weaver’s. There were many others that I browsed through, just walking from shop to shop.
I loved Our Front Porch, where I found a great sign that I put on my wall below my dad’s shelf. I know it’s meant to go outside in a yard, but since I live in an apartment, it looks great on my wall instead.
They had some other really cool stuff as well, including clothing, decorations and kitchen items. They even had a small section for children. Probably the best space in there was the wind chimes, but unfortunately I don’t have anywhere to put them.
Weaver’s was also an awesome store, will lots of woodworking, such as bedroom sets with hidden drawers and shelves, end tables that transformed into larger tables, rocking chairs, rocking horses and so much more! I probably could’ve spent all day in that store, just exploring!
ENTERTAINMENT
Our first day in Shipshewana, we went to the Shipshewana Auction and Flea Market. We first went to the barn where the auctioneering was happening. It was so overwhelming, with at least 3 auctioneers going at a time. Each one had their own area, however, all of the noise was just too much for me. There were some really cool things in there being auctioned, and people come from all over to have their items auctioned off, but because of my discomfort, we went out to explore the flea market.
I’ve never been to a flea market like this before! There were aisles and aisles of shops!! Since we were on a tour, we were only able to stay for a little bit, but we probably would’ve had to stay all day just see every booth. Some of the booths were what you would expect, people who bought cheap items on Temu or Alibaba and were reselling them. Others had crafts that they had made themselves, such as Amish made belts and woodworking, Corian cutting boards and jewelry. There were also booths with books and movies, herbs and seasonings, home decor, bags and purses of all sizes, clothing and so much more!
Part of our tour also took us to the Davis Mercantile building. There were a variety of shops here, including Millie’s Market Cafe and Jojo’s Pretzels (an Indiana favorite). There’s also a carousel on the top floor and a LARGE tree trunk going through the center of the building, which is almost 400 years old!! This was a lovely place to explore.
Another popular destination in Shipshewana is the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center. The Performing Arts Center is well known for their concerts and events. Throughout the center are signed pictures featuring many celebrities who’ve visited, including comedians and bands! They also have some great decor!
TRANSPORTATION
When exploring Shipshewana, don’t be surprised to see horse-drawn carriages, in addition to motor vehicles and bicycles. Shipshewana has adapted to the Amish people living in the community and has an added lane along the side of all the main roads for the buggies and bikes, as well as areas of parking to tie up the horses. There are even cleaning crews who go by regularly to clean up the horse manure.
As you can see, there were also a variety of carriages. Some were open, others only had a front seat. Some had space for the whole family, including an additional row of seats and others even had little trailers that they were towing. I was so amazed by all of it, and sort of felt that I had taken a step back in time, to a much slower time, where people weren’t always in a rush to get somewhere as quickly as possible.
We decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the town, getting to see some of the country that our other tours hadn’t shown us. Our wonderful tour guide took us around, showing us the old parts of town, including the old train station. He showed us the parks and ball fields, as well as a small Amish-owned restaurant to grab a bite (unfortunately they were closed by the time we got there). He explained to us how many of the smaller farms are being sold and families are finding other ways to make money since technology is increasing the ability for larger farms to plant and harvest crops and milk cows at a faster rate than the smaller ones can.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Shipshewana was an incredible place to visit, and I’m sad that I was only there for a few days. I will need to visit again at some point, so that I can try to see everything there is to see. Have you visited Shipshewana? What was your favorite part?
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[…] As you may already know, I recently visited Shipshewana, IN and stayed in this amazing hotel called the Blue Gate Garden Inn. Shipshewana is a small town in northern Indiana. This rural town is incredible to visit. To learn more about it, click here! […]