The Monroe County, Mississippi, Old Order Amish settlement is now extinct. A small colony of Old Order Amish moved to western Monroe County and eastern Chickasaw County, Mississippi, from Newton County, Indiana, in the winter of 1895-1896. The address of the settlement was Gibson and Aberdeen. The first to acquire land in Monroe County were John T. Yoder and Eli E. Miller, when they purchased two plantations with 3,300 acres. Families from other Amish communities later moved into the settlement, so that with those who were married in the congregation the number reached approximately 25 families. Several families moved away before the last settlers arrived. By 1904 all of the Amish settlers had sold their land and moved back north to Arthur, Illinois; Indiana; Custer County, Oklahoma; Anderson County, Kansas; Reno County, Kansas; and to Michigan. About 1937-1938 a few families again bought homes near Aberdeen, and in 1949 about 8-10 families were living in Monroe County, but no congregation developed.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 515, v. 3, p. 741. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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