About the Series

Project Background

While driving or walking around the small town of Sarasota, Florida it is quite common to see members of the Amish and Mennonite community, particularly during the Winter months (November to April). You can see Amish families riding their bikes while wearing their traditional attire (dark-colored suits for men, and solid-colored dresses for women), enjoying a meal at Der Dutchman (a popular Amish restaurant) while speaking Pennsylvania Dutch to each other, or playing shuffleboard, bocce ball, and even volleyball at a local park. Some of them (a small percentage) live here all year round, while the majority, come here to spend part of the winter months, away from the hardships and long winters up North. They all settle in Pinecraft, a small neighborhood around Bahia Vista Street. 

Most people associate Amish and Mennonite communities with places in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New York) or the Midwest (Ohio, Michigan). The Amish, trace their history back to the conservative Anabaptist movement in 17th century Switzerland, Alsace, and Southern Germany. Its founder, Jakob Ammann rejected the role of state-sponsored religion, and introduced Biblical practices like foot washing into the church service, a simplicity in life, and uniformity in dressing and hair grooming. The Amish began emigrating to North America in the 18th century and, since their arrival, they have traditionally settled in the Northeast and the Midwest, usually looking for states with available farmable land, and permissive to their unique way of life. Since their arrival, tensions and schisms, mostly related to the way Amish communities have negotiated social change and technological innovation, have divided the Amish into the “old order,” conservative by nature and who mostly rejected cultural and technological innovations, and the “new order” Amish, who have been slightly more open to introduce certain changes in the lives of their communities while trying to preserve the essence of their cultural and religious practices. 

While, in recent decades, Amish communities have emerged in other places in the United States, particularly in the West (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado), there is still something unique and almost improbable about the success of the small Amish community in Sarasota. How can we explain the existence of this community in Florida, so far away from traditional Amish settlements? What is its history? How is this community different from those up North? And what can we learn from studying the uniqueness of this community? 

Project Goals

The various events of this series were designed not only to explore the history, culture, and practices of the local Amish community, but were also meant to inspire constructive dialogue with the public. We wanted the local Amish and Mennonite community to look back on their own history, as well as to reflect on the unique characteristics of Pinecraft, a place where members from the diverse Amish and Mennonite community from all over North America come together for a few days, weeks, and sometimes months to escape the harsh Winter months. We also wanted to bring together various humanities scholars from New College to interact with scholars in the field of Amish studies (such as Steve Nolt) in order to explore a wide variety of issues relevant to the community. Finally, we wanted the community to see itself through the eyes of one of their own, which is why we want to stage an exhibition by local amateur photographer Katie Troyer.

Associate Professor of Religion Manuel Lopez was the project director and principal investigator of the Mellon and Florida Humanities grants that made this project possible. Together with JB Miller, Prof. Lopez also organized the course Growing Up Amish in Sarasota that was taught in the Fall of 2023, a class that explored Amish history, culture, and practices, with a particular focus on the impact of the Amish in the Pinecraft community in Sarasota.

Project Creators

Dan Bethune

Assistant in Humanities Art Studio Technician/Instructor. Dan helped print and frame all the photographs displayed in the exhibition.

Student Assistants

New College Art History student Anna Gliwski helped designed and install the exhibition, and interviewed Katie Troyer to helped label all the photography displayed in the exhibition. Students Jennifer Stegman, Andrew Brodsky, and Molly Erickson helped set up the exhibition