Shipshewana

One of the 97 things I love about visiting Indiana is going to Shipshe. It's like no other shopping mecca anywhere, and TOTALLY not what you'd expect in Indiana, Land of the Outlet Mall. Shipshewana was originally a one-horse town with a nice big grain processing place and a Tuesday Horse Auction by the Amish. We used to go there and buy our ponies for 5 and ten dollars a piece when we were kids. The Amish not having much use for ponies, they were dirt cheap.

Shipshewana Library. (Not large. The Amish are not big on reading.)

The auction grew to be a farmer's market and then it grew to become a giant flea market and now it is two days, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Because of the boom, the town of Shipshe has also grown into this neat shopping mecca. Lots of candy stores, fabric stores, gift shops, wood-craft shops (like hand-made Amish furniture, etc), all of them inside of old Victorian era houses on Main Street and all the side streets. My favorite is the Davis Mercantile which burned down a couple years ago but has been rebuilt very nicely. It is 3 stories like the inside of a barn, with shops, restaurants, park benches and big-wide farmhouse staircases. VERY cool!

This picture doesn't really do it justice, it has a very rustic aspect.

The other favorite shop is Yoder's Hardware. We used to make the mecca to Shipshe in the spring to get fabric for our Easter Dresses!

Of course all the Amish have cell phones, now.

And, of course, there is this disclaimer:
As always, out of respect for our religious heritage,
shops and attractions are closed on Sundays