SHIPSHEWANA, Ind. – Shipshewana is named after Chief Shipshewana, a chief of the Pottawattamie Indians. This small Midwestern farming community is filled with history, culture, and fun with a huge entertainment venue. The area has the third largest Amish community in the country, and they offer several opportunities for unique farm tours.

To connect with the farming tours, the best place to start is with the tourism bureau, Visit Shipshewana. To help with scheduling, all tours should be scheduled in advance of a visit. Attending the 5th annual Midwest Travel Network Conference this past week, I had the chance to experience several farm related activities firsthand and learn more about the area, and culture. Through this and previous trips, I have seen many rural highlights in the community.

The auction and flea market – an auction in Shipshewana is different than any auction anywhere else. The auctions take place on Wednesday mornings. Plan to take a gander around the area to preview because once the auctions start, it is mayhem. There are up to 10 different auction rings with auctions taking place simultaneously in each ring.

The flea market is huge and offers anything from tools to books to clothing and more. There is a wide array of sales from livestock to antiques. Check out the website for Shipshewana Trading Place for details. Vendors can also bring items, set up and sell for a fee. There is no buyer’s premium on the current auctions, only a fee to enter items in. Call for details.

For those that wonder what life is like for an Amish wife living on a homestead, the chance to tour a home and visit with the farm wife is fascinating. During this type of visit, we had the chance to see an Amish home, one home had a husband that weaved rugs, another had a family raising thousands of chickens.

The Amish women opened their homes and their hearts, sharing what a typical day in their life is like. A visit to an Amish school is also a look into the rural lifestyle that teaches children both English, and German, in a special Pennsylvania Dutch dialect that children learn first at home before adding English to their vocabulary.  Church services take place once every two weeks, and during the summer months, the teacher that we spoke to shared they offer German School on alternating Sundays. At the school, the English and German alphabet, and Bible were used.

Any collector will enjoy a tour of the Hoosier Buggy Shop. Located in Topeka, Ind., the shop is owned by Maynard Hochstetler. His father opened the shop in 1960. Hochstetler demonstrated to a group of travel bloggers how he put a buggy together, and how he added rubber to the wheel. It was amazing how much technology the buggies had, many had blinkers and most all had lights. Some buggies had a place for a child to lay, and they came in a variety of sizes.

Buggies must meet safety standards. Each must have an orange safety triangle, and non-motor vehicle plate. The windows are made of plexiglass and most open. Hochstetler said that windshield wipers are moved by the driver. A buggy is comprised of a box mounted to the wheel carriage. Besides building all this, he also sews the upholstery. A blog on Shipshewana Trading Place shares, “There are basic, 1-2 or 3-seater buggies (holding 2, 4 or 6 people). The bigger you get the bigger your leaf springs have to be… aka shock absorbers, making for a smoother ride. The most common buggy today is the 2-seater for 4 people and can range from around $8,000 - $10,000.”

The last tour that I took was of the Cook Bison Ranch in Wolcottville, Ind. This wonderful tour took a group out into the field and offered a chance to feed the bison. We got important safety instructions and had to carefully share the treat with the bison that cajoled to get front and center for a taste. It was easy to see the pecking order. At Cook Bison Ranch, they sell bison meat, along with offering agritourism tours, and sometimes a meal as well. In the about section of their website, they wrap up the story of this three-generation family farm. “Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It all began in 1939 when Grandpa Everett Cook purchased an 83-acre farm, complete with house and barn, for a grand total of $5,000. After being told it was the worst investment he had ever made, he paid it off with two good years of popcorn. Today, that ‘worst investment’ has become a third-generation dream...Cook’s Bison Ranch.”

On a previous trip, I worked with an Amish guide, and the gentleman rode with us in our car and shared great rural stops. Shipshe Farm Supply is a dealership where they sell horse-drawn equipment. Here we saw new one-bottom horse drawn plows for sale.

Our guide also took us to a horse auction barn. We saw several horses that were going to auction. We also went to the Riverbend Harness and Horseshoeing shop.

There is an array of stops besides tours that those seeking farm finds will enjoy. At Silver Star Leather, owner Loren started out making harnesses for his horses. His wife suggested he expand. Soon purses, wallets, belts and items made from a variety of exotic animal skins were used to craft one-of-a-kind leather goods. Then there is E&S Bulk Food and Sales in Shipshewana. This is a farm toy lover’s paradise. With farm toys on top of almost every aisle. At Cherry Pickers, Mark and Stephanie Liechty are reclaiming this and that from furniture to items from reclaimed barns and homes and making new and unique creations.

All these stops offer a view of rural life in the Shipshewana area. Keep in mind that these arrangements need to be made in advance, and that photos of the Amish are not welcome.