[5] Several hundred years ago, the indigenous Mound Builders built their settlements in an area to the north of the city's marshes.

Pottawatomi arrived in the area from near Green Bay, Wisconsin in the 1700s, partially displacing the previous Miami inhabitants.

[6] The first European settlers came to the area in 1830, as various treaties and a process the Pottawatomi call the "Trail of Death" led to the relocation of Native Americans away from their traditional territories.

[7] The B&O Railroad sought a route westward from Sandusky, Ohio to the booming inland port of Chicago, Illinois in 1872.

While the land around what became Nappanee and nearby Bremen was flat, permitting a straight crossing from Walkerton, it was also marshy, which led to various engineering challenges.

The section through Nappanee was finally completed as a single track in the late summer of 1874 and replaced by steel rails in 1882.

Nonetheless, on December 6, 1874, about three weeks after the railroad reached the outskirts of Chicago, it commenced service to what it first called Locke's Station.

By the early 20th century, onions had become a major crop (inspiring an autumn festival), and other farmer-entrepreneurs grew hemp, spearmint and peppermint.

[12] Early in the 20th century, various Nappanee natives became noted cartoonists, including Merrill Blosser, Max Gwin, Bill Holman, Fred Neher and Henry Maust, and political cartoonist Francis (Mike) Parks was educated in Nappanee before working for New York, Omaha and San Francisco newspapers.

[16] A tornado touched down in Nappanee around 10:30 PM on 18 October 2007, injuring at least five people and damaging 200 to 250 buildings, half of them severely.

[17] The Amish religious group that broke off from the Mennonites was formed in 1525 in Switzerland as part of the Radical Reformation and quickly spread to Germany and the Netherlands.

As a more radical branch of the wider Protestant Reformation against Catholic practices, the Mennonites were vigorously persecuted by religious and worldly authorities.

During the 18th century, the Amish were attracted to the promise of religious freedom in William Penn's colony and thus settled in Pennsylvania.

The First Mennonite Church in the area was founded in 1854, but members worshiped in homes, then built a schoolhouse in 1867 and also used it for services for several years (as did other denominations with their permission).

[20] Nappanee is still surrounded by family farms of conservative Anabaptists, including the Amish, Mennonites, and the Schwarzenau Brethren.

[22] Nappanee is now surrounded by fertile farmland as the headwaters of the Wabash River in northern Indiana, but initially was one of the least desirable areas of what became Elkhart County, due to dense woods and widespread swamps, particularly tamarack marshes.

Precipitation north of Market Street drains into the Great Lakes, and ultimately the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean.

Following a devastating tornado in 2007, [29] Nappanee suffered a sluggish economy and slow recovery, resulting in significant job losses for the city.

Since 2014, the town has been home to a major bus assembly plant owned by British maker Alexander Dennis.

It is a historic farm and heritage resort which embodies a preserved barn and Amish house that help to "Embrace the Pace" as Nappanee's slogan implies.

Amish Acre's original preserved Round Barn was relocated to its current location, and within it was constructed a theater in order to present shows.

Amish Acres has received many awards, making its way onto The American Bus Association's list of TOP 100 Events in North America in 2012.

Amish Acre's Art and Craft Festival attracts people from areas as far as Chicago, Indianapolis, Toledo, and Detroit.