Throughout the Amish Heartland, the Amish culture is clearly visible. From the tidy farms with their large houses and crimson barns, to the distinctive black buggies clip-clopping leisurely down the road, it's difficult to miss the visions of a unique lifestyle that draws millions of visitors to the area each year.
But another culture is also prevalent in the Amish Heartland, although it is not necessarily as apparent. In fact, the Swiss presence preceded the Amish one in some areas of Wayne, Holmes, Tuscarawas, and the surrounding counties.
The villages of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County and Kidron in Wayne County - are the centers of the area's remaining Swiss culture. And while the settlers of these two villages came from the same region of Switzerland, the two communities are, and have always been, quite different.
Sonnenberg/Kidron
In 1817, a group of Swiss settlers arrived in Wayne County from Sonnenberg, near the Jura Mountains of Switzerland (in the canton of Bern). Religious persecution and unfavorable farming conditions had made life in their homeland almost unbearable, and they desired a place where they could live in peace and, hopefully, prosperity.
This first group was comprised of families bearing surnames still common in the area today -Schrag, Burkhalter, Nussbaum, Augsburger and Brand. Travelling from Pennsylvania, the group settled near what is now Smithville, Ohio. They were struck primarily by two things: the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the seemingly endless opportunities they sensed in the new world. A year later, siblings Johannes and Anna Amstutz arrived in Wayne County from the same region. Almost immediately, all of these first settlers wrote to their relatives and friends back in Switzerland, extolling the favorable conditions of the area.
Those letters must have been quite convincing, because soon a group of men in Switzerland (along with their families) made the long, arduous journey to the young state of Ohio. This group of 28 Swiss Mennonite men, women and children arrived in Ohio in 1819, and the men - Ulrich Lehman, Peter Lehman, David Kirchhofer and Isaac Sommer - immediately began looking for land suitable for a settlement.
East of Wooster, they found...their homeland, in a sense. The lush forests and gently rolling hills of the landscape reminded them instantly of the lowlands of Bern. They would settle here. In honor of the beloved home they had left in Switzerland, and perhaps a bit out of homesickness, they decided to give their new home the same name: Sonnenberg.
Coming from the Anabaptist tradition, these settlers were deeply religious.And in keeping with the Mennonite ideals of simplicity and humility, they were very plain, adhering to a strict code of ethics in which mirrors, jewelry, and even buttons were seen as a sign of pride. Nevertheless, remnants of beauty were allowed in the form of decorative arts (such as furniture, textiles and the architecture of the houses and barns), and many excellent examples have been preserved in the area. Fraktur, an ornate style of writing and painting, was very popular, and several men and women in the community became quite well-known for the art. Woodworking and weaving were other prominent vocations (besides the greatest one:agriculture). And in perhaps the most authentic Swiss contribution, the area was at one time home to numerous cheese houses (although sadly, none remain today).
Over the years the little village evolved, and the name Sonnenberg eventually gave way to Kidron, the name in use today.
Presently, the village of Kidron (and its surrounding countryside) is home to a large Mennonite community, close-knit, industrious and strongly committed to preserving the religious ideals of their ancestors. Swiss surnames such as Gerber, Lehman, Sommer, Nussbaum, Amstutz, Neuenschwander and many others are prevalent.
On the bustling square in Kidron, the Kidron Sonnenberg Heritage Center houses an inspiring collection of early memorabilia, including a rebuilt 1820s log home (one of the area's first structures), an extensive display of Fraktur, and many of the wooden trunks the Swiss settlers brought on the ships from Europe, each unit packed full of an entire family's belongings!
Sugarcreek
Although the settlers of Sugarcreek came from the same region of Switzerland - the canton of Bern - they did not arrive until the 1830s and 1840s (approximately), and they were not Mennonite, but adhered to the Reformed church (probably German Reformed).
Sugarcreek (named for the body of water running nearby) was formally named in 1888, when its post office was established. Up until then, the area had only one small settlement, Shanesville, which eventually merged with the growing Sugarcreek.
Beginning in 19th-century Sugarcreek, the Swiss and Amish cultures found in each other a perfect business solution.
The Swiss immigrants wanted to make cheese, and the Amish farmers had milk to sell, said Les Kaser, curator of the Alpine Hills Historical Museum in downtown Sugarcreek. So it worked out well for everyone.
At the museum, visitors can browse through several impressive exhibits (many with audio-visual presentations), including a replica of an 1890 cheese house, complete with a huge copper kettle. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of the Swiss (and Amish)heritage of the area, according Les. In fact, he said, kser means cheesemaker in Swiss-German. Other Swiss surnames borne by the early settlers include Andreas, Mueller, Weiss, Fry, Stauffer and Stalder, among others. Many of these names can still be found in the Sugarcreek area today.
By most accounts, the first cheesemaker in the area was Jacob Steiner, an immigrant from Switzerland who was making cheese near Ragersville (in Tuscarawas County) by 1833. There are around ten cheese factories still active in the area, with a few more in Holmes County as well. At many of these establishments, Amish farmers can still be seen delivering fresh milk to the cheese factories in their horse-drawn wagons, just as they have done for more than 150 years.
In Sugarcreek, the colorful vestiges of the Swiss culture can be clearly seen, both in the distinct Swiss-style architecture of the downtown business district and in the cheese factories still in operation around the village. Cheesemaking is a revered and important aspect of Sugarcreek's economy, and the area has become the center of Swiss cheese production in Ohio and nationwide.
Today the village of Sugarcreek is widely known as Ohio's Little Switzerland, and is the proud host of the annual Ohio Swiss Festival, held each September in downtown Sugarcreek (see Calendar of Events for information on this year's festival, the 50th of its kind).
According to Les, the festival regularly draws crowds of 75,000 to 100,000 people, all eager to partake of the many Swiss foods and activities that are part of the experience. The festival features two traditional Swiss athletic events: the Steinstossen, in which men and women hoist a very heavy boulder over their heads and heave it as far as they can; and the Schwingfest, a lively Swiss version of wrestling.
This year, there will also be a special quilt auction and a collector's plate commemorating the festival's 50th anniversary, along with dancing, parades, live music and much more.
Common Traits
Despite the differing backgrounds of Kidron and Sugarcreek, the residents of both still retain some of the distinctly Swiss traits of their ancestors, even if they don't realize it, said Patricia Kaser of the Alpine Hills museum. Les agreed heartily.
To this day, the area people are very frugal...and hardworking! he said. Patricia also mentioned many food traditions still present, including (of course!) a deep love of cheese!
Two hundred years ago in the Jura Mountains, local people referred to the Swiss Mennonites (who eventually settled Kidron) as Die Stillen im Lande, meaning the quiet people in the country. Indeed, around Kidron and Sugarcreek (and many places in between), you'll find many quiet, frugal, industrious people in the country, carrying on the traditions their ancestors brought from so far away.
Alpine Hills Historical Museum, Sugarcreek, (330) 852-4113, (888) 609-7592 (also call these numbers for information about the Ohio Swiss Festival); Kidron Sonnenberg Heritage Center, Kidron, (330) 857-9111, www.omii.org.
Other sources: Sonnenberg: A Haven and A Heritage by James O. Lehman; and www.sugarcreekohio.org. (Sept. 2002 Edition)