Hi all,A while back, I had asked if there were any Amish settlements close to North Carolina, but at the time we thought that the only settlement in NC had vanished long ago. Recently, I read a post on the internet about a so-called Amish store in Hamptonville, NC. I wasn't really expecting much as the last one I visited in NC was not an actual Amish store but rather a nice little store that sold Amish foods. But hope springs eternal, so when my hubbie and I decided to take a road trip this weekend to celebrate our 25th anniversary, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to check out this store. Well, I am happy to report that the Shiloh General Store is actually a small Amish grocery store and bakery. I also discovered that there is a small but growing Amish community in Union Grove, NC. The settlement was started in 1985 when some Amish farmers in Guthrie, Kentucky decided to locate farms in a more moderate climate. Since then the settlement has grown to about 30 families from different states.While visiting the store, I purchased a copy of their local cookbook and it is amazing the variety of the last names listed in it. This cookbook has 16 different last names when they only have about 30 families. I think it shows the diversity of this little community.

So for anyone interested I'll list the last names. Lets see we have: Coletti, Hostetler, Detweiler, Mast, Luthy, Schlabach, Kauffman, Troyer, Yoder, Peachey, Brenneman, Slining, Slabaugh, Nissley, Miller, Zook, and Swartzentruber.

Pam