If you’ve ever wondered how the Amish life came to the Land of Lincoln, this list of fast facts will answer your questions. Learn all about how the Amish came to America and our state.

These simple people may have had it figured out all along. Scroll on to learn more about them.

1. The very first Amish to come to Illinois settled in the state around the 1830s and built their communities in the central part of the state. These communities have mostly disbanded since.
Flickr/Mia & Steve Mestdagh
2. The Amish communities that exist in Illinois today are derived from families and communities from Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Wikimedia Commons/Rlevse
3. The largest Amish community in the Land of Lincoln is in Arthur, Illinois, which was settled around 1864. This was about 130 years after the first Amish families started immigrating to the United States.
Flickr/Tripp
4. About half of the state's Amish population hails from the town of Arthur in central Illinois that has about 2,200 residents.
Wikimedia Commons/Ad Meskens

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5. The Amish originally came to the United States, and Pennsylvania in particular, for religious freedom. To this day, they seek out places where they can live their own way and govern as they please.
Flickr/Ian Lamont
6. A proper Amish life needs great deals of remote land in order for the communities to grow their own food and operate their own dairy farms.
Wikimedia Commons/Daniel Schwen
7. Being the largest, Arthur has about 28 Amish churches in town, which is more than any other community in the state.
Wikimedia Commons/Daniel Schwen
8. Arcola is a similarly small town that sits right next to Arthur and is equally known for its Amish community. These twin cities are the Illinois hot spot for Amish living.
Flickr/Patrick Finnegan

What else is there to know about Amish life in Illinois? Share your thoughts with us below in the comments.

For more like this, find out details about an Amish heritage museum in Illinois that is important to our state’s history.

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