Is Lancaster County’s Amish population still increasing rapidly or, because of development pressure, beginning to level off as families move to greener pastures?
In fact, the number of Amish increases annually at a rate far greater than the general population.
In its annual Amish population study, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College estimates that 1,450 Amish babies were born in Lancaster County last year. Only 145 Amish of all ages died. That population increase of 1,305 brought the total number of Amish living here to 44,315.
The Lancaster County figures include Amish living in the greater Amish settlement, so several hundred of those people live in Chester, York and Berks counties in Pennsylvania and Cecil County, Maryland. This is the largest settlement of Amish in North America.
The Amish population in Lancaster County is growing far faster than the county’s population as a whole, roughly doubling every 20 years.
From 2000 to 2023, the county’s Amish population increased from about 16,900 to 44,315 — a 160% increase. Meanwhile, Lancaster County’s overall population grew from 470,658 to an estimated 563,046 — a comparatively modest 20% increase.
There are two primary reasons for the difference in population rates, according to the Young Center report.
Amish have “sizable nuclear families (five or more children on average) and a retention rate (Amish children who join the church as young adults) of 85% or more.’’
Back in the 1980s, when the county’s population was rising more rapidly than now, some observers predicted that the county’s overall population would increase so fast that many Amish might be forced to go elsewhere to find land to farm in the 21st century.
That has not happened. Few Amish leave this area. The Amish have adapted more readily than expected to the substantial countywide growth that has occurred. In much of the county, the Amish buy every available farm, and they have thrived in other businesses.
The origin of ‘powwow’
From time to time over the years the Scribbler has had reason to try to explain the relationship between Pennsylvania Dutch “powwows’’ and American Indian powwows.
Pennsylvania Dutch scholars and powwow practitioners generally agree that early English-speaking settlers recognized that medicine-related rituals of the Indians and the Dutch were similar. Therefore, the Indian term “powwow’’ was transferred to the Pennsylvania German practice of folk medicine.
But where did the word “powwow’’ come from in the first place?
American Indian, the magazine of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., provides the answer in a story about powwows in the summer edition.
“The word ‘powwow,’” writes Anne Bolen, “is said to originate from the Algonquian word ‘pau wau,’ which translates to ‘he dreams,’ referring to a medicine man who learned his skills from a dream.’’
Bolen received this explanation from Dennis Zotigh of the Kiowa, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and Isante Dakota tribes, He is a cultural specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian.
Powwows began in the Plains as a sacred ceremony. Healing rituals were only part of these events. Indian children received their names during some powwows. In others, grateful people gave gifts to those who had helped them. Dancing usually concluded the ceremonies.
Dancing and drumming (and, of course, eating) are the main features of contemporary powwows, which are held throughout the United States. Several powwows are held each year in central Pennsylvania.
Jack Brubaker, retired from the LNP staff, writes “The Scribbler” column every Sunday. He welcomes comments and contributions at scribblerlnp@gmail.com.
