Holmes County, Ohio is about an hour's drive south of Cleveland and about an hour north of Columbus. It is beautiful rolling farmland and forestland interrupted by small towns straight from yesteryear. As the visitor drive more deeply into the heart of Holmes County the feeling of having stepped back into time becomes every stronger. The roads become narrower in places and in some areas the cars share the road with Amish buggies. You've arrived at one of the largest settlements of Amish people in North America. Their plain and distinctive dress, bonnets and brimmed black hats set them aside from others in this area. They are a quiet and humble people who give honor to their creator in many ways including the products they make. It will come as a surprise to many that some of the best woodworkers in the world are in the American heartland community of Holmes County, Ohio.

Amish furniture carpenters make a variety of wood products and it would be difficult to say what is their best product. However, their Amish furniture for home and office is truly world class. Amish furniture products are sold world-wide and compete readily with furniture from other furniture making centers of the world. Much Amish made furniture is distinguished by the use of solid hardwood lumber throughout each item of household furniture. In a world in which we have become used to veneers over pressboard it is refreshing to find the kind of furniture our grandparents were used to. This hardwood furniture comes from renewable American forests with stands of cherry, oak, maple and hickory. For those who are concerned about using hardwood for furniture it is important to note that North American hardwood forests are among the best managed in the world. Nearly twice as much hardwood grows each year as is harvested in the U.S. For this reason, the volume of hardwoods in American forests today is 90 percent larger than it was 50 years ago. The Amish carpenters of Ohio are near the middle of this hardwood wealth. For the person wanting to buy quality and buy American it is interesting to understand that American carpenters and hiring other Americans to use an American product to sell worldwide a product that is as good or better than is produced outside the United States.
So, visit Holmes County to see the home of some of the world greatest carpenters. If you can't visit but want to buy don't forget that beautiful Amish furniture is as close as your Internet. Just enter the search term "Amish Furniture" in Google, Yahoo or other search engines to find thousands of on-line Amish furniture stores.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Furniture