- Kishacoquillas Valley
The Kishacoquillas Valley, known locally as both Kish Valley and Big Valley, is an enclosed anticlinal valley in the
Ridge-and-valley Appalachians of CentralPennsylvania , lying between Stone Mountain ridge to the north andJacks Mountain ridge to the south. The valley is located in Mifflin County and Huntingdon County. ManyAmish andMennonite people also live in the valley. Kishacoquillas Valley is home to theNebraska Amish , one of the most conservative Amish groups. The valley drains via theKishacoquillas Creek through the Mann Narrowswater gap in Jacks Mountain to theJuniata River .U.S. Route 322 follows the creek though the gap, and is the main travel route across the valley, running from Harrisburg to State College. TheMifflin County Airport also lies in the valley.Kishacoquillas Valley has many similarities to the Lancaster region. Like Lancaster, many Amish people reside in the valley. Accents identical to those heard in the Lancaster region is also frequently heard in the valley.
Principal towns
*Belleville
*Milroy
*Reedsville
*Barrville
*Allensville
*AirydaleHistory
John Armstrong named the Valley in 1759 after a friendlyShawnee chief. His Indian name translates to "The snakes are already in their dens." [http://kishvalley.com/]Joseph Yoder portrays the late nineteenth-century Valley in his semi-autobiographical "Rosanna of the Amish" (1940).External links
* [http://kishvalley.com/ Kishacoquillas Valley Historical Society]
* [http://www.kvrr.net/main.php Kishacoquillas Valley R.R.] historical site
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