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Nappanee is a city in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. The population was 6,648 as of the 2010 U.S. Census and had grown to 6,913 by the 2020 U.S. Census. The name Nappanee is thought to mean "flour" in the Algonquian language.


History

Several hundred years ago, the indigenous
Mound Builders Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific people or archaeological culture but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks that in ...
built their settlements in an area to the north of the city's marshes.
Pottawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
arrived in the area from near
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
in the 1700s, partially displacing the previous
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
inhabitants. The Pottawatomis had settlements on the
Elkhart River The Elkhart River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana in the United States. It is almost entirely ...
at Elkhart, Goshen, and Waterford, and at Monoquet between Leesburg and Warsaw in what became
Kosciusko County, Indiana Kosciusko County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw. The county was organized in 1836. It was named after the Polis ...
. Thus, the Plymouth-Goshen Road near Nappanee probably follows the course of an old Indian Trail. The first European settlers came to the area in 1830, as various treaties and a process the Pottawatomi call the " Trail of Death" led to the relocation of Native Americans away from their traditional territories.


Railroad town

By 1870, seven farms had been established and forty people were settled around Nappanee. Locke Township had been founded in 1836 and named after Samuel Lockwood, and by 1863 a settlement called Wisler Town existed, but the actual platting of the village of Locke Town, approximately six miles from Nappanee, took place in December 1867. It would receive its last addition in 1874, the year that Nappanee was platted (on December 12, 1874). The
B&O Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie ...
sought a route westward from
Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in Erie County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( west) and Cleveland ( east). At the 2020 United Stat ...
to the booming inland port of
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1872. While the land around what became Nappanee and nearby
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
was flat, permitting a straight crossing from Walkerton, it was also marshy, which led to various engineering challenges. The section through Nappanee was finally completed as a single track in the late summer of 1874 and replaced by steel rails in 1882. Farmers sold the railroad land so that its tracks would run right next to Nappanee on its route to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, although the railroad was unable to acquire the five acres needed to build a side track to the existing town of Locke. Nonetheless, on December 6, 1874, about three weeks after the railroad reached the outskirts of Chicago, it commenced service to what it first called Locke's Station. By the month's end, Daniel Metzler, Henry Stahly, and John Culp Jr. had platted the town of Nappanee; Culp gave the railroad three acres for a station and Metzler two acres. By 1875, trains arrived almost daily at the new depot and discharged freight and passengers. The Eby brothers of Locke said they suggested the name because they came from Napanee, Ontario; one of the Metzlers said their father selected the name in part because of its native American connotations. Over time the B&O Railroad eventually became
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
.


Development

The town's first industry was a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
, and later additions were box-making, charcoal, and furniture businesses. The first brickyard (using local resources) was established before 1879. The first canning company was established in 1894, and a hemp factory was built by 1913. The hemp factory never reached full capacity, and was burned down in 1920, not rebuilt. Mobile home construction had started in Elkhart and Goshen by
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the Walco and Franklin Coach Company were built in Nappanee after the war. Once the land was cleared, corn and wheat were planted, and agriculture has long been important in the area. By the early 20th century, onions had become a major crop (inspiring an autumn festival), and other farmer-entrepreneurs grew hemp, spearmint and peppermint. Nappanee was governed as a township from 1874 until 1889 when it incorporated as a town (then electing a town marshal and establishing a fire company and soon a waterworks). The town library was started as a ladies' subscription service in 1895 and became a public library in 1925 after sufficient building funds were amassed to purchase an existing house, although a dedicated building wasn't opened until 1937. In 1895, some tried to establish a college in Nappanee, but unlike various fellowships and fraternal and literary societies, the proposal never was implemented. In 1925 Nappanee incorporated as a city. Early in the 20th century, various Nappanee natives became noted cartoonists, including
Merrill Blosser Merrill Blosser (May 28, 1892 – January 9, 1983) was an American cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip ''Freckles and His Friends'', which had a long run (1915–1971). Although his strip was set in the small town of Shadyside, it was ob ...
, Max Gwin, Bill Holman,
Fred Neher Fred Neher (September 29, 1903 – September 22, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated gag panel, ''Life's Like That'', which offered a humorous look at human nature, with a focus on American society and family life, for ...
and Henry Maust, and political cartoonist Francis (Mike) Parks was educated in Nappanee before working for
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
and
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
newspapers. A marker outside the public library notes Nappanee's cartooning history. The Frank and Katharine Coppes House, Downtown Nappanee Historic District, Arthur Miller House, Nappanee Eastside Historic District, Nappanee West Park and Pavilion, and Stahly-Nissley-Kuhns Farm are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. A
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
touched down in Nappanee around 10:30 PM on 18 October 2007, injuring at least five people and damaging 200 to 250 buildings, half of them severely. The tornado was classified as an
EF3 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...
. The damage included three recreational vehicle factories that are among the community's largest employers: Fairmont Homes, Franklin Coach, and Gulf Stream Coach.


Amish migration to Nappanee

The
Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
religious group that broke off from the Mennonites was formed in 1525 in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
as part of the
Radical Reformation The Radical Reformation represented a response to perceived corruption both in the Catholic Church and in the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Starting in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th cen ...
and quickly spread to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. As a more radical branch of the wider
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
against Catholic practices, the Mennonites were vigorously persecuted by religious and worldly authorities. During the last decade of the 17th century a group from the Mennonites led by
Jakob Ammann Jakob Ammann (also Jacob Amman, Amann; 12 February 1644 – between 1712 and 1730) was a Swiss Anabaptist leader and the namesake of the Amish religious movement. Personal life The full facts about the personal life of Jacob Ammann are in ...
separated to form the
Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
group which was named after its leader. During the 18th century, the Amish were attracted to the promise of religious freedom in
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
's colony and thus settled in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Amish then migrated to Middlebury in 1841 coming from
Holmes County, Ohio Holmes County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 44,223. Its county seat is Millersburg. The county was formed in 1824 from portions of Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties and organized the ...
, where they had migrated to from Pennsylvania, starting in 1809. Nappanee's Amish originate from the early Amish immigrants from southwest Germany, notably the Palatinate, to Pennsylvania in the middle of the 18th century. Amish families who became Old Order Amish in the second half of the 19th century first arrived in southwest Elkhart County in the early 1840s, and various other religious conservative denominations followed them. The First Mennonite Church in the area was founded in 1854, but members worshiped in homes, then built a schoolhouse in 1867 and also used it for services for several years (as did other denominations with their permission). The first permanent building was erected in 1878, two years after the United Brethren Church moved from the schoolhouse into its own building (only to sell it and build a new building in 1888 and remodel it in 1928). Nappanee is still surrounded by family farms of conservative
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
s, including the Amish,
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
s, and the
Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches ...
.


National Register of Historic Places

* Arthur Miller House * Frank and Katharine Coppes House * Downtown Nappanee Historic District * Nappanee Eastside Historic District * Nappanee West Park and Pavilion * Stahly–Nissley–Kuhns Farm


Geography

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of of land. Nappanee is now surrounded by fertile farmland as the headwaters of the
Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...
in northern Indiana, but initially was one of the least desirable areas of what became Elkhart County, due to dense woods and widespread swamps, particularly tamarack marshes. The water drains into two watersheds—precipitation south of what became Market Street drains into the Wabash River, thence to the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
,
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, and ultimately the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. Precipitation north of Market Street drains into the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
, and ultimately the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
and the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 6,648 people, 2,545 households, and 1,792 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 2,852 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.8%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.7%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.4% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 6.2% of the population. There were 2,545 households, of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age in the city was 34.8 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.4% were from 45 to 64; and 12.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 6,710 people, 2,521 households, and 1,792 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,647 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.48%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.28%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.22% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 2.52% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 4.98% of the population. There were 2,521 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15. In the city the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,988, and the median income for a family was $53,329. Males had a median income of $36,200 versus $21,733 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $19,229. About 4.5% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.


Amish community

There is a large Amish community founded in 1842, centered around Nappanee. It is the sixth largest of all Amish settlements with 5,910 people (in 43 congregations) in 2017.The 12 Largest Amish Communities (2017).
at Amish America


Education

The Wa-nee group of schools is the combination of Wakarusa, a neighboring town, and Nappanee area schools. Over 375 teachers and staff are employed with Wa-nee Community Schools. Throughout the state, Wa-nee is known for its strong academic, extracurricular, and athletic programs. *
NorthWood High School Northwood High School may refer to: * Northwood High School (Irvine, California) * Northwood High School (Louisiana) * Northwood High School (Maryland) * NorthWood High School, Nappanee, Indiana * Northwood High School (North Carolina), Pittsboro ...
- Recently given the Indiana Chamber of Commerce “Best Buy Schools” distinction for quality education with conscientious use of taxpayer dollars. *NorthWood Middle School and Wakarusa Elementary - Both schools are part of the Wa-nee Community Schools, and are located in Wakarusa. *Nappanee Elementary - Located within Nappanee *Woodview Elementary - Constructed as a structural mirror image to Wakarusa Elementary. Sits on the outskirts of Nappanee. The Nappanee Public Library serves as a free lending library.


Transportation

Until train service ceased on March 7, 2005, Nappanee station was a stop on Amtrak's '' Three Rivers'' train with service to Chicago and New York.


Economy

Nappanee is a regional center for both the
recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...
manufacturing industry and the
Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
craft and tourism industry. Many Amish and
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
families live in the area, employed in the farming industry as well as working in the recreational vehicle industry or woodworking trade. Following a devastating tornado in 2007, Nappanee suffered a sluggish economy and slow recovery, resulting in significant job losses for the city. It has since recovered. Since 2014, the town has been home to a major bus assembly plant owned by British maker
Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom, with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, ...
.


Tourist attractions


Amish Acres

Amish Acres The Barns at Nappanee, Home of Amish Acres, formerly known solely as Amish Acres, is a tourist attraction in Nappanee, Indiana, created from an Amish, Old Order Amish farm. The farm was purchased in October 1968 at auction from the Manasses K ...
was founded by Richard Pletcher. It is a historic farm and heritage resort which embodies a preserved barn and Amish house that help to "Embrace the Pace" as Nappanee's slogan implies. Amish Acres celebrates the Amish and shows features of their lifestyle. Amish Acre's original preserved Round Barn was relocated to its current location, and within it was constructed a theater in order to present shows. In addition to viewing plays at Amish Acres, tourists can also experience authentic Amish-style cooking. Amish Acres offers other activities such as tours of an Amish house and a horse-drawn carriage ride. Amish Acres is home to Nappanee's Arts and Crafts Festival.


Festivals


The Nappanee Apple Festival

The Nappanee Apple Festival is held annually on the third week of September, lasting 3½ days. It consists of 100 craft booths, 50 commercial booths, 20 food vendors, two stages for entertainment, a large parade and an airplane flyover on Saturday morning. Nappanee annually bakes a seven-foot-wide apple pie that weighs 600 pounds. Every year an Apple Blossom Queen is chosen from NorthWood High School. The Nappanee Apple Festival attracted over 76,000 people in 2011 and is one of the largest festivals in the State of Indiana. Over 200 people from Nappanee volunteer to help with the Apple Festival each year. Other events include an apple peeling contest, 5K road run, half marathon, apple pie eating contests, goldfish races, wings & wheels show (cars and airplanes), tractor pull, farm tractor and antique farm equipment show, apple baking contest, kids and adult pedal pull contests, talent show, and a scholarship pageant.


Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival

Richard Pletcher, founder of the festival and Amish Acres, remains CEO and Jennifer Pletcher Wysong is the festival director. The festival and marketplace takes place around Amish Acre's pond. Amish Acres has received many awards, making its way onto The American Bus Association's list of TOP 100 Events in North America in 2012. This achievement was awarded four times in seven years. Readers of Sunshine Artist magazine rank the Art and Crafts Festival as the third-best Classic and Contemporary Craft Show in America. The Art festival was also listed at the number one in the category of "best attractions for group travel in Indiana" in Travel Trade Magazine. Senior Group Traveler selected the Arts and Craft Festival as one of only seventy "Editor's Choice of Outstanding Festivals and Major Events"; the Art and Craft Festival being the only one chosen from Indiana. Amish Acre's Art and Craft Festival attracts people from areas as far as Chicago, Indianapolis, Toledo, and Detroit. Amish Acre's grounds can support up to 300 booths which consist of 250 different cities from all 50 states, as well as over 40 different countries.


Parks

There are nine parks in the City of Nappanee. They are: * Borkholder Nature Center & Wetlands * Callander Sportsplex * McCormick Creek Golf Course * Nappanee Dog Park * Recovery Park * South Park * Stauffer Park * Wellfield Park * West Park


Notable people

*
Merrill Blosser Merrill Blosser (May 28, 1892 – January 9, 1983) was an American cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip ''Freckles and His Friends'', which had a long run (1915–1971). Although his strip was set in the small town of Shadyside, it was ob ...
, (''
Freckles and His Friends ''Freckles and his Friends'' is an American comic strip set in the peaceful small town of Shadyside where young Freckles McGoosey and his friends lived. Although the long-running strip, created by Merrill Blosser, is remembered for its continuing ...
'') * David Crane, creator of
Pitfall! ''Pitfall!'' is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released in September 1982 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who has a time limit of 20 minutes to seek treasure in a jungle. The game world is popu ...
and co-founder of
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
*
Vance George Vance George (born 1933) is an American choral conductor from Nappanee, Indiana. A protégé of Margaret Hillis, Vance George served as choral director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for 23 years (1983–2006). As guest conductor of the Sa ...
, conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus from 1982 to 2006 * Bill Holman, (''
Smokey Stover ''Smokey Stover'' is an American comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Bill Holman (cartoonist), Bill Holman from March 10, 1935, until he retired in 1972 and distributed through the ''Chicago Tribune''. It features the misadventures of t ...
'') *
Fred Neher Fred Neher (September 29, 1903 – September 22, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated gag panel, ''Life's Like That'', which offered a humorous look at human nature, with a focus on American society and family life, for ...
, (''
Life’s Like That ''Life's Like That'' was a gag panel by Fred Neher which found humor in life's foibles. Spanning five decades -- from October 1, 1934 to August 20, 1977 — the panel was initially distributed by Consolidated News Features, and later by the Be ...
'') *
Bob Rensberger Robert Lamar Rensberger (March 7, 1921 – September 6, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. He played one season for the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946–47. He only appeared in three t ...
, (1921–2007), a professional basketball player for the
Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were originally meant to start out as the ''Chicago Atomics'', to the point ...
* Diane Meyer Simon, environmental activist and former wife of Herbert Simon


Twin city

*
Greater Napanee Greater Napanee is a town in Eastern Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston and the county seat of Lennox and Addington County. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte. Greater Nap ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...


References


Sources

* ''They Called It Nappanee: A History 1874-1974'' by James L Weygand. (Nappanee, Indiana, 1974)


External links


City of Nappanee, Indiana website

Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort
- Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Nappanee Missionary Church
- Largest church in the area
Nappanee Amish community
{{Authority control Amish in Indiana Cities in Elkhart County, Indiana Cities in Kosciusko County, Indiana Cities in Indiana