Keywords
Amish; Population density; Distribution; Settlement; Ohio; Pennsylvania
Abstract
This technical note demonstrates the value of using online mapping tools as a method of geolocating Amish settlements. Primarily using freely available Bing and Google maps and published lists of the addresses of Amish ministers, we geolocated 1,362 Amish households in Ohio and 1,203 in Pennsylvania, representing about 10% of Amish households in those states. From these data we were able to derive a population density map of the Amish across Ohio and Pennsylvania. We caution that our map is merely a model and based on several assumptions, but the product is a finer resolution map of Amish distribution than has previously been published. We add that the locations of Amish schools provide another promising avenue for geolocation of Amish settlements, but we were not able to locate sufficiently comprehensive lists to include them in our analysis.
Acknowledgements
We thank Lizzy Cooper, Ryan Donnelly, Sam Donnelly, Micaela Edelson, Louis Gorst, Jared Jones, Ben Langey, Erin Palmer, Rachel Pruitt, and Crystal Williamson—undergraduate students in the Environmental Studies Major at Gettysburg College—for their diligent assistance collating data. Salma Monani (Associate Professor, Gettysburg College) provided much encouragement and advice. Joseph Donnermeyer (Professor, The Ohio State University) was gracious in supplying data and advice. We also thank Jeff Bach, Donald Kraybill, and Edsel Burge (Young Center for Anabaptists and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College) for allowing access to the Young Center Research Collections. Brian Lonabocker and Megan Zagorski were funded by the Gettysburg College Provost’s Office and a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Andrew, Brian Lonabocker, and Megan Zagorski. 2015. "Online Mapping Tools for Geolocating Amish Settlements." Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 3(2):202-11.
ISSN
2471-6383