Rich history, a thriving downtown and stellar schools in Nappanee
Home to roughly 7,000 people, the northern Indiana town of Nappanee is known for its vibrant shopping and dining, easy access to nearby employers, and the best school district in Elkhart County. Its historic downtown is filled with restored buildings, murals and longtime local businesses. “We have a ton of local businesses that have been downtown or in the surrounding area that have been around for years and years — since before I was born — and they’re still running in the same families,” says Kiley Weiss, administrative assistant with the Nappanee Chamber of Commerce. “It’s very family and community oriented. Once people come to Nappanee, you don’t hear of many people who leave.” The community is also influenced by the significant Amish population in Elkhart and Goshen, the third-largest settlement in the nation. “Nappanee is one of the communities we consider to be a gateway to Amish country in northern Indiana,” says Terry Mark, director of communications and public relations for Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “You might find them as your neighbors. They work and shop around the area, so it’s not uncommon to encounter horses and buggies or bicycles, which are their primary means of transportation.”
Nappanee has a hot housing market
Nappanee’s housing stock includes bungalows, American Foursquares and National-style homes built in the early 1900s as well as midcentury split-levels and ranch-style homes. Sidewalks and mature trees line most residential streets. Buyers can also find New Traditional and Craftsman-inspired new builds in subdivisions. Nappanee has a median single-family sale price of $320,000, on par with Goshen and Wakarusa. Homes here tend to sell fast — on average, homes sell after 12 days on the market, far below the national average of 70 days.
Wa-Nee Community Schools are the best in Elkhart County
Wa-Nee Community Schools serves about 3,000 students from Nappanee and Wakarusa. The district receives an A rating from Niche and has three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Niche ranks it the best school district in Elkhart County. "We see more teachers coming in because the schools are great,” Weiss says. “They have a dedicated mental health counselor, and I think it’s so cool that our schools have that.” High schoolers can earn an associate’s degree from Grace College through online classes and take career and technical education courses at Elkhart Area Career Center. Students can also take clusters of courses in concentrations like agriculture, marketing and digital design.
Walkable downtown and a shopping hub in a former cabinet factory
Locals from nearby communities flock to Nappanee for its historic, walkable downtown. “Most of the local downtown restaurants, shops and jewelry stores are still family owned, so I think that makes our community very special,” Weiss says. “We have Miller’s Orchard, which is a little produce shop that everyone loves to go to, and Neighbor’s Mercantile is crazy awesome.” Once a factory for Coppes Napanne cabinetry, Coppes Commons is now a vibrant community hub of artisan shops, eateries and gathering spaces. The Coppes Napanee legacy continues today, and visitors can glimpse into the building’s past at the Coppes History Museum. Residents can grab groceries at Martin’s Super Market and fresh cuts of meat at John’s Butcher Shop.
Outdoor spaces include a nature center, dog park and art trail
The community features eight parks and recreational facilities, including a dog park, Callander Sportsplex, the public McCormick Creek Golf Course and Borkholder Nature Center and Wetlands. Stauffer Park, the city’s largest, spans 30 acres and includes a towering wooden playground and the Nappanee Art Path, a mile-long trail that features more than 130 sculptures. The Barns at Nappanee — formerly known as Amish Acres — is an 80-acre Amish farm that was transformed into a heritage resort and event venue. The grounds feature restored 19th-century barns, cultural demonstrations and a beloved restaurant. It’s also home to the Round Barn Theater, which hosts six productions each year.
Within a 30-minute drive of Warsaw, Elkhart and Goshen
State Route 19 and U.S. Route 6 intersect in downtown Nappanee, making it easy to reach Warsaw and Elkhart, both about 20 miles away. “Nappanee is a pretty active, vibrant city, and they have a lot of manufacturing in that area,” Mark says. “Their downtown is at the crossroads of a couple major highways, so if you’re downtown you’ll have a pretty decent amount of traffic and truck traffic that comes through.” Goshen and Goshen Hospital are within a 15-mile drive. The employment and education hub of South Bend, the home of Notre Dame, is about 30 miles away. An active rail line runs through town, which can cause occasional delays.
Annual Apple Festival brings 80,000 visitors to town
The Nappanee Apple Festival is the event of the year. Held the third weekend in September, the fall festival brings more than 80,000 people to town for more than 100 food and craft vendors, live entertainment and Indiana’s largest apple pie, a 7-foot dessert divided into more than 800 slices. “We shut down the main road and we have apple vendors that sell slushies, popcorn — anything apple you can think of, we have,” Weiss says.
Written By
Leslie Klosterman
