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Reflections: Mennonite roots run deep in Perth County

Looking back at the Amish and Mennonite communities whose faith, traditions and meeting places helped shape the region’s early history

In recognition of September’s Mennonite Heritage Week in Canada, we are taking a look at the long history of the Mennonite community in Perth County, beginning quite early on in the settlement history of the region.

In the 1820s, there was a migration of Swiss-German people, “Amish” Mennonites from Lorraine and Alsace, regions located in the northeast of modern-day France. This migration stemmed from a desire to live somewhere that provided these communities with the religious freedoms they were seeking.

Reflections: Mennonite roots run deep in Perth County Back to video

In this region, members of the Amish Mennonite community first settled in what is now Perth East Township, specifically the historical South Easthope Township and the adjoining East Zorra Township in Oxford County. These groups organized formally in 1837,........

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