Mennonite Farm Country
Amish Mennonite farmland (July 03, 2010)
Near Montezuma in Macon County is a community of Beachy Amish
Mennonites. The roots of these Mennonites go back to the Old Order Amish
of Somerset County, Pennsylvania and they share many of the same
beliefs. They wear plain clothes and the women wear head coverings.
Unlike the Amish, they have church buildings, drive automobiles and use
electricity. But they do not watch television or participate in other
forms of modern entertainment.
If you would like to take a drive through this farm country, go west
from I-75, exit 127 on Ga. Highway 26. After a little over 11 miles, a
small Mennonite country store called Yoder's Country Market will be on
the right side of the road. This little store has items such as
old-fashioned candy, spices, and Amish tonics as well as basic staples.
Continue west for another couple of miles to Yoder's Deitsch Haus &
Bakery. This is a good place to eat lunch or dinner and it has been open
since 1984.
There is a gift shop in a separate building to the left of the
restaurant. It stocks a variety of items including chow-chow, Skinner's
Vaporizing Salve, and pepper jelly. It has an assortment of home-style
jams that are made with real sugar instead of the high-fructose corn
syrup that is used in most supermarket brands.
Go west 0.1 mile from Yoder's Deitsch Haus and turn right (north) onto
White House Inn Road for 1.8 miles. This will take you to the White
House Farm. This is a Mennonite Bed and Breakfast Inn. It is also a
dairy farm with lots of animals. Overnight guests can experience the
workings of this active farm.
Turn left at the stop sign onto Mennonite Church Road and go west 0.5
mile to Kauffman Strawberry Farm. Kauffman's is a good place to pick
fresh strawberries. Strawberry season in this part of Georgia is
normally April and May.
Strawberry fields at Kauffman's (April 23, 2011)
When Kauffman's is open, be sure to go into the silo and look up.
Sandwiches, ice cream, and other treats are available in the silo.
Strawberry season is the best time to stop at Kauffman's, but it also
sells other local produce during the growing season as well.
Strawberry lemonade at Kauffman's (May 08, 2010)
Continue west a little over a mile from Kauffman's. Just before the stop
sign, turn left onto the dirt road (not the main road). This is also
Mennonite Church Road. Follow this road (south) until it ends at a stop
sign. Turn left at the stop sign onto Mennonite School Road. This will
take you past the country school that the Mennonite children attend. The
school is a plain building with six windows in front and a gravel
driveway.
When you come to the next stop sign past the school, you have completed
a loop. If you continue straight ahead on Mennonite School Road, this road will
take you back to Ga. Highway 26
and then to I-75.
GEORGIA’S AMISH MENNONITES KEEP THE FAITH
Also just about a mile north of Montezuma on Highway 49 is WILLIAM BROWN'S FARM MARKET. It is a roadside market that open in the summertime with vegetables and fruits that are picked daily.
While Farmer Brown's is known for peaches including Elbertas, you can also buy vine-ripened tomatoes, okra, green beans, squash, and other summertime favorites. Homemade peach ice cream and flowers are also sold.
without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)