Northern Indiana's Amish Acres To Close Jan. 1

Associated Press

Amish Acres includes a theater for stage plays, an inn with 62 guest rooms and a restaurant featuring traditional Amish cooking.
*Chris Light/CC-BY-SA-4.0*

NAPPANEE, Ind. (AP) — An official says northern Indiana tourist destination Amish Acres will close at the end of the year after 50 years in business.

Executive Director Jeff Kitson of the Nappanee Area Chamber of Commerce said Friday he received a letter from founder and CEO Richard Pletcher saying his family is retiring at the end of 2019 and will close Amish Acres after its New Year’s fireworks show.

Kitson says the business will likely go to auction in early spring if the family hasn’t found a buyer by then.

The Nappanee site includes a bakery, meat and cheese shop, arts and crafts boutiques, a theater for stage plays, an inn with 62 guest rooms and a restaurant featuring traditional Amish cooking. Kitson says more than 5 million people have visited.

Support independent journalism today. You rely on WFYI to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Donate to power our nonprofit reporting today. Give now.

Carl Erskine, Dodgers pitcher and last surviving member of 'Boys of Summer,' dies at 97

Carl Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, died Tuesday. He was 97.