Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center

  Since the beginning of the Anabaptist movement in the early 1500's, the people who later came to be known as Amish and Mennonites have been a puzzle to the rest of the world.

   Who were these people who upset the European religious community, both Catholic and Protesant, by teaching about adult baptism? Why,  in the face of trials and persecution, did they choose to respond with non-violence?

    A unique educational experience awaits you at the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center. Witness the history of the Amish, Mennonites and Hutterites on Behalt-one of only four cycloramas in North America.

   Behalt is a 10 ft. by 265 ft. circular mural. The name Behalt means "to keep, hold, or remember." The painted oil-on-canvas cyclorama uses distinctive artistic techniques of line and color to illustrate multiple stories within a vast timeline.

EXPERIENCE THE MARTYR'S FINAL MOMENTS. It is astonishing to find that history of the Amish and Mennonites-

known as "the gentle people" and "the quiet in the land"- is laced with persecution and martyrdom. Struggling to live

out their beliefs in a peaceful manner, they were forced to migrate across Europe, some into Russia, and across the Atlantic to North America. Through the mural you will come to a deeper understanding of the precepts that formed their beliefs and led to their quest for a simple, peaceful lifestyle.

The Heritage Center also offers a 15 minute video on the local  Amish and Mennonite