Shelby County, Illinois, is located in the southern half of the state, approximately 50 miles southeast of Springfield. In 1872 a small Old Order Amish settlement was established in the county by settlers from Elkhart and Lagrange counties, Indiana, and Holmes County, Ohio. Among them were Jacob Miller, a minister, and Christian Borntreger, later ordained minister. Because of a disagreement among the organizers, most of the settlers moved away in 1883, principally to Reno County, Kansas.

In 1907 John D. Kauffman and his followers established another Amish Mennonite settlement in the county near Shelbyville. Their church, named Mt. Hermon, was built in 1912. The membership had declined to 41 by 1957. Joseph D. Reber was bishop.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 512-513. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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