This collection consists of selected images taken by East Petersburg, Pennsylvania photographer Dennis L. Hughes of Amish life and culture in the United States with a special emphasis on the Amish in Lancaster County. Images date from the 1980s through the early 2000s. Hughes first became interested in the Amish when he was a young boy growing up in Lewistown, Pennsylvania near the Big Valley area. The physical collection housed in the Hess Archives contains over 18,000 images, primarily color slides. Subjects include buggy styles, agricultural work, mud sales, Amish schools, Amish children, and more. The collection includes photographs taken for Dr. Donald Kraybill’s books Amish Enterprise and The Riddle of Amish Culture.

Amish woman browsing buggies

Amish woman browsing buggies

Amish men talking

Amish men talking

Amish men lean on buggy

Amish men lean on buggy

Young Amish men near buggies

Young Amish men near buggies

Two Amish men talk next to buggies

Two Amish men talk next to buggies

Amish selling at quilt auction

Amish selling at quilt auction

Amish men and boys at mud sale

Amish men and boys at mud sale

Men examine machinery

Men examine machinery

Men inspecting machinery

Men inspecting machinery

Amish boys riding buggy

Amish boys riding buggy

Two Amish boys in open buggy

Two Amish boys in open buggy

Amish boys in open buggy

Amish boys in open buggy