Charm, Ohio: The Amish Country Village With the Sweetest Name
Charm, Ohio, is a tiny village tucked into the hills of Holmes County, and it might have the best name in all of Amish Country. Horse-drawn buggies roll past farm fields, a family lumber business has grown here for more than a hundred years, and some of the region's most famous cheese and cake are made just down the road.
If you're planning a trip to Charm, Ohio, here's what to know before you go: how the village got its name, what to see nearby, and how to fit it into a day of exploring Ohio's Amish Country.
TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF CHARM, OHIO
Charm is one of the stops on Ohio's Amish Country Byway Driving Tour, a self-guided GPS audio tour that runs from Kidron to Walnut Creek. As you drive, your guide, Greg, tells the true stories behind the villages, cheese houses, and bakeries you pass.
Along the way, you'll hear:
How Charm picked its name off a government list
The Keim family lumber mill that has grown for more than a century
The Swiss cheesemaker who created Baby Swiss just down the road
The basement noodle business that turned leftover egg whites into angel food cake
Download the tour in the WalknTours app and let the stories play as you drive.
Check out the Ohio's Amish Country Byway Driving Tour here.
HOW CHARM, OHIO GOT ITS NAME
Charm didn't start out as Charm. Back in the 1860s, this little village was called Stevenson. Then in 1886, the people here asked the government for a post office. The government sent back a list of names that were still available, and the town picked Charm.
So yes, a whole town chose its name off a government list. It's a little like naming your kid from a drop-down menu. But they picked a good one, and more than a hundred years later, the name still fits.
A CENTURY OF LUMBER: THE KEIM STORY
In Charm, you'll find the Keim Home Center, and its story goes back to 1911. That year, two brothers, Mose and John Keim, started a small lumber mill with just four workers. In the 1930s, Mose's son Roman joined the business, and it kept on growing.
Over the years, the Keims added a lumber store, flooring, and much more. Today, it's a big building supply center, and Robbie and Karen Keim became its owners in 2022. Keim lumber even helped build the Stutzman Crossing covered bridge in nearby Walnut Creek. That's more than a hundred years of turning trees into homes.
BABY SWISS AND ANGEL FOOD CAKE: CHARM'S SWEET NEIGHBORS
Just down the road from Charm sits Guggisberg Cheese. Alfred Guggisberg learned to make cheese in Switzerland, and he came to America in 1947. Local Amish dairy farmers needed someone to buy their milk, so they hired Alfred to run a little cheese company in the valley. In 1950, Alfred and his wife, Margaret, made it their own. Alfred created a milder Swiss cheese in smaller wheels, and Margaret named it Baby Swiss.
Nearby, Miller's Bakery has a story that's just as sweet. In 1967, Barbara and Sam Miller started making egg noodles by hand in their basement. Noodles only use the yolks, so the Millers ended up with a mountain of leftover egg whites. Their answer was angel food cake, and people started showing up at their house just to buy it. In 1978, their daughter Mary opened a real bakery on the family farm.
DRIVING TO CHARM: TIPS FOR THE BACK ROADS
Charm sits along Route 557, a narrow, twisty road full of hills and farm views. It's a beautiful drive, but it comes with a few rules of the road:
Slow down for horse-drawn buggies, which move about 5 to 8 miles per hour
Never pass a buggy on a hill or a blind curve
Skip the horn, since it can scare the horse
Ask before taking photos of Amish people, and skip photos of their faces
Plan your visit for Monday through Saturday, since most Amish-owned shops close on Sundays
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Charm is a small village, but it sits right in the middle of some of Ohio's best Amish Country stops, from Berlin and Sugarcreek to Walnut Creek. For hotels, restaurants, itineraries, and the best things to do nearby, our travel guide has you covered. Then download the driving tour and hear the stories behind every stop along the way.
Check out the Ohio's Amish Country Travel Guide here.
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