The Barns at Nappanee

Moses was the son of pioneer Christian Stahly who emigrated from Germany with his widowed mother Barbara and three brothers to the southwest corner of Elkhart County in 1839; making them, perhaps, the earliest Amish settlers in Indiana.

Amish Acres featured guided house and farm tours, a narrated wagon ride, domestic craft demonstrations, a 400-seat family style restaurant, a 200-seat Barn Loft Grill, 400-seat repertory musical theatre, the 64-room Inn at Amish Acres and 66-room Nappanee Inn.

Because of the tamarack swamp to the south of the Continental Divide and the heavily forested land to the north, it was the last part of the county settled by immigrants.

Colonel John Jackson was sent into the area to eradicate the Potawatomi Indians living in a village on the Elkhart River near present-day Baintertown.

Chief Five Medals had made two trips to Washington, D.C., to acquire federal grant money to help transition his village from hunter-gatherers into farmers, so as to live peacefully beside the arriving white settlers.

[4] In spite of intense lobbying from Goshen, Indiana, the county seat, the railroad chose a bee line route through the swamp and hardwoods hugging the north-south Continental Divide.

Government drainage programs financed ditches and clay field tile that created some of the most fertile farmland in the Midwest.

Through years of neglect due to Manasses Kuhns' debilitating illnesses, the farm fell into disrepair by the time of his death.

[7] The concept of purchasing the farm and creating Amish Acres for the purpose of preserving and restoring the buildings and opening it to the public for guided tours with historical and cultural interpretation came from LaVern and Richard Pletcher, furniture merchants since 1933.

The plan has been executed closely over the decades and now includes the dining, lodging, and theatre programs originally envisioned.

The Pletchers incorporated Amish Acres after the successful bid with investors Freemon Borkholder, Ivo Heckaman, and Gordon McCormick.

Over half of Amish Acres visitors come from outside of Indiana, although many local constituencies are served by the restaurant, musical theatre, and arts and crafts festival.

Amish Acres has been recognized by Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report magazines for its contributions to reviving Nappanee's economy, early Internet retail selling, and the arts and crafts festival.

The Round Barn Theatre is the national home of Plain and Fancy, a 1955 Broadway musical about Amish life and love.

Held during sidewalk days, the exhibit displayed the water colors created by the arts and crafts program from the parks and recreation department.

Joseph Wrobble, well-known teaching artist from South Bend, Indiana, and Dory Crane, a Nappanee promoter, were instrumental in the early years of the event.

A year later the festival was moved to the courtyard of the farm which included the original relocated barn that became Amish Acres' first restaurant.

As the festival grew and the number of booths expanded into the farm's orchard, the marketplace was relocated to surround the pond.