Sojourn Chronicles

ELKHART, INDIANA—The building rises above the countryside giving the traveler a quick impression. THAT is magnificent; what is it?

The building sitting on this northern Indiana prairie is a huge, nearly 52,000-square-foot, Amish-built, timber-framed building that will be the corner stone of the American Countryside, a rural theme park. The Midwest Farmer’s Market interior stalls, six months from its grand opening, are nearly fully leased, from mom and pop vendors to one of the nation’s largest appliance makers, Whirlpool. There will also be porch vendors and outside stalls available.

There is only one other place like this one, the one that provided the inspiration, according to Director Deborah Alwine. It’s in St. Jacob’s, Ontario, Canada. The Elkhart project has a much larger plan, one to celebrate the rural life. When the entire project is complete, visitors can not only buy food and crafts at the farmer’s market, but enjoy the rural life theme park, the American Countryside.

The ground breaking was held in June 2006, and the grand opening is planned for May 24, 2007, the Thursday before the three-day Memorial Day weekend.–DBrent

View more photos and hear about this farmer’s market in a multi-media presentation.