Why Our Local Community Matters

About Holmes County Ohio

The county population of approximately 42,000 includes about 20,000 Amish. Millersburg, the county seat, is the home of Pomerene Hospital, government offices, the main post office, banks, grocery stores, shops, the main library and the Amish Country Visitor Center.

The county's two school districts, West and East, enroll about 4,600 students in two high schools, one middle school, and 14 elementary schools. Special learning needs are met at the Holmes County Training Center. There also are about 95 Amish parochial schools.

The county has three commissioners, 14 township trustees and many churches, clubs, and organizations.

Drink in the scenery, enjoy the relaxing pace, drive down the roads and lanes of yesteryear, where every major road is a designated scenic byway.There are no interstate freeways in the county - yet millions of visitors find their way here annually to explore and experience the epic beauty of the area.It is one of the more prosperous and yet distinctly rural counties in Ohio. There is constant growth, but the beautiful countryside remains pleasantly unspoiled.

Amish and Holmes County

The Amish community and Mennonites are the result of an outgrowth of the 16th century Anabaptist movement in Europe. During the Swiss Protestant Reformation, the Amish and Mennonites were considered radical for rejecting infant baptism and mandatory military service so they immigrated to America with high hopes of religious freedom. 

It was here they decided to settle; they farmed, grew, raised families until today, their descendants in Holmes County and the surrounding counties constitute the largest community of Amish in the world, better known as, Ohio’s Amish Country.  

The first people of the Amish faith settled in Sugarcreek, Ohio in 1808. Jonas Stutzman, the first white male to settle in eastern Holmes County, made his homestead in Walnut Creek in 1809 and from there, the population continued to nurture. Today 36,000-38,000 Amish live in a five-county region made up of Holmes, Wayne, Ashland, Tuscarawas and Coshocton with their population doubling about every 16 years. 

A Rich Amish Culture

Pomerene Hospital is located in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country.  Amish patients make up nearly 50% of our customers, and we see more Amish patients than any other hospital in the world.  With our unique customer focus, we provide a three-bedroom furnished “Amish House” on our premises.  Amish families who come from afar to seek medical treatment may stay at the “Amish House” to be near their loved ones, and Amish patients with an early morning surgical procedure where transportation may be difficult can also use the “Amish House.”  As an organization, we take pride in our culture and provide every employee with cultural training so that great care is given to every patient, every time.