A real red phone booth stands inside this store, and you can still make an actual call from it. That alone made me grin. Then you notice the oil lamps and wood stoves lined up nearby.
The building itself is a patchwork of history. Part of it is an 1849 barn that was moved and rebuilt with its original hand-hewn timbers and wooden pegs. Old stoves double as decor.
You wander past butter churns, cast iron pans, and hand-cranked kitchen gadgets.
It feels like a museum that lets you take the exhibits home.
This spot sits in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country. It started as a shop for neighbors who live without power.
Today it’s a quarter-mile of clever, low-tech wonder begging to be explored.
A Store Built For Neighbors Who Never Plugged In
Back in 1955, Jay Lehman opened Lehman’s Hardware & Appliances with a very specific customer in mind. His Amish neighbors in Kidron, Ohio lived without electricity, and they needed tools that worked anyway.
That simple goal shaped everything that came after. Instead of chasing the newest gadgets, the store stocked dependable, non-electric goods that families could actually use every day.
Word spread far beyond the farm lanes. During the 1973 energy crisis, people everywhere suddenly wanted low-tech backup plans. The Y2K scare brought another wave of shoppers looking for lamps, stoves, and hand pumps.
Each surge proved Jay’s idea had staying power. Practical tools never really go out of style, especially when the power flickers.
Today, the company ships products around the world. Yet its heart still beats in this small Wayne County community. The store’s mission talks about a simpler life built on integrity, tradition, and personal connection.
That might sound lofty for a hardware store. Then again, most hardware stores don’t trace their roots to helping neighbors light their homes without a single outlet. It’s a pretty great origin story for a place full of wicks and washboards.
Bring Comfy Shoes For A Quarter-Mile Shopping Adventure
Sprawling doesn’t quite cover it.
The store calls itself a Low Tech Superstore, and exploring its departments takes you on a shopping journey nearly a quarter-mile long.
Here’s the fun part. The structure was pieced together from a log cabin and several pre-Civil War buildings. One of them is an 1849 barn that was moved and reassembled right on site.
Look up and you’ll spot the original hand-hewn timbers. Wooden pegs still hold the frame together, just like they did more than 170 years ago.
That old-school craftsmanship fits the merchandise perfectly. A store that sells hand tools probably shouldn’t live in a metal box, right?
Antiques from Jay Lehman’s personal collection fill the walls and corners. You’ll find vintage stoves, iceboxes, and farm tools displayed among the shelves. Little history stops are scattered throughout the aisles, too.
The effect feels part store, part museum. You might plan a quick shopping trip and end up reading signs for an hour. Plenty of people spend a whole afternoon here without seeing everything.
Pace yourself, grab a cart, and keep your eyes open. Some of the best details hang right over your head.
Fridges And Freezers That Never Need An Outlet
Propane refrigerators sound like a riddle until you see a whole row of them. Lehman’s carries propane fridges and freezers that keep food cold without a power cord.
These appliances make a lot of sense for remote cabins and homesteads. They also work as a backup when storms knock out the grid for days.
The off-grid lineup keeps going from there. Shoppers can browse water heaters, hand pumps, and composting toilets. These are the kinds of items you rarely find at a typical big-box store.
Got questions? Staff members can explain how specialty gear like water pumps and wood stoves actually work. That’s handy when you’re about to rethink how your whole house runs.
Even if you’re not moving to the woods, browsing this section is eye-opening. It shows just how many daily comforts can run on something other than electricity.
Maybe you’ll leave with a full off-grid setup. Maybe you’ll just leave with a new appreciation for your grandparents. Either way, the propane fridge will probably stick in your mind long after the drive home.
Let There Be Lamplight, Minus The Light Switch
Oil lamps were the original nightlights, and this store still treats them like stars. The lighting department carries lamps, wicks, chimneys, and lamp oil.
That matters more than you might think. Plenty of families own antique lamps but can’t find the right replacement parts anywhere else.
Need a new chimney for great-grandpa’s lamp? This is the kind of place that might actually have one.
Lamps also make sense for practical reasons. A power outage feels a lot less gloomy when you have a warm, steady glow on the table.
Homesteaders and cabin owners rely on this kind of lighting every single night. For them, a good wick is as important as a light bulb is for everyone else.
The amber glow of an oil lamp also adds charm to any room. Some folks buy them simply because they look lovely on a mantel or porch.
Whatever your reason, give yourself time to browse. The variety of shapes and styles can surprise you. Just remember to grab extra oil before you leave, because a lamp without fuel is basically a pretty paperweight.
Wood Stoves Steal The Show In This Toasty Department
Few things say self-reliance quite like a wood-burning stove. At Lehman’s Hardware & Appliances, these heavy beauties get serious floor space.
You’ll find wood stoves for heating and wood cook stoves for making meals. Some shoppers come specifically to compare brands and models side by side.
The store even hosts workshops on wood cook stove techniques. That’s a smart idea, since cooking over firewood takes a bit more skill than turning a dial.
Then there are the vintage pieces. Old stoves appear throughout the building as decor, giving you a peek at how kitchens looked generations ago.
A modern stove shopper can stand next to a century-old model and see how far design has come. Or how little it really needed to change.
Think about it. A good wood stove can heat a room, cook supper, and keep a kettle warm, all at once. That’s multitasking long before smartphones made it trendy.
If you’ve ever dreamed of a crackling fire in your kitchen, this department will feed that dream. Just measure your space first, because these stoves are not small.
Your Grandma’s Kitchen Called And It Wants These Tools Back
Grind, bake, brown, preserve, juice, roll, and flatten. That’s how the store describes its kitchen tools, and the list is no exaggeration.
Hand-powered gadgets fill the shelves. You’ll see grain mills, coffee grinders, juicers, and butter churns that need nothing but elbow grease.
Cast iron gets plenty of love here, too. These pans are famous for lasting decades and heating evenly, which explains why families hand them down like heirlooms.
Canning fans will feel right at home. Gear for preserving homegrown fruits and vegetables takes up a good chunk of the department.
Not every tool is old-fashioned. Clever modern gadgets show up alongside the classics, including small helpers that make prep work faster.
Honestly, this might be the most dangerous section for your wallet. Items you never knew you needed have a sneaky habit of landing in your cart.
Even if you only cook on weekends, it’s fun to see how kitchens worked before blenders took over. A hand-cranked tool also makes a great conversation piece. Your friends will definitely ask about that butter churn on your counter.
Garden Tools And Beekeeping Gear For Would-Be Homesteaders
Growing your own food starts with the right tools. The garden and homesteading department at Lehman’s offers seeds, sturdy hand tools, and farm supplies.
It works for beginners and seasoned growers alike. A small container garden and a full backyard plot can both find what they need.
Hand-powered gardening tools get special attention. They fit the store’s whole philosophy of simple, durable equipment that won’t quit on you.
Beekeeping supplies are part of the mix as well. Raising bees can mean fresh honey and happier garden plants, which sounds like a sweet deal.
Camping gear shows up around the store, too. If you love the outdoors, you’ll spot plenty of items that work at a campsite or a cabin.
This section ties everything together nicely. Grow food in the garden, preserve it with kitchen tools, and store it in a propane fridge.
Suddenly the idea of living without electricity doesn’t seem so far-fetched. It starts to look like a fun, very satisfying project. Even a tiny herb pot on your windowsill counts as a first step.
Everyone starts somewhere, after all.
Plan Your Trip To The Heart Of Amish Country
Finding the store is easy once you reach the farmland. Lehman’s Hardware & Appliances sits at 4779 Kidron Road, Dalton, OH 44618, in the small community of Kidron.
This corner of Wayne County belongs to Ohio’s famous Amish Country. The region has one of the largest Amish populations in the nation.
That setting explains why the store fits so naturally here. Its earliest customers lived just down the road, and their way of life still shapes the shelves.
Visitors come from all over the country and the world. The store has also been voted Best Destination in Ohio’s Amish Country several times.
From June through December, the store is generally open Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with shorter hours on certain holidays.
From January through May, it closes at 5 p.m. on weekdays but stays open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Saturdays can get busy, which makes a weekday visit worth considering. Give yourself at least a couple of hours to explore without rushing.
After shopping, the surrounding countryside offers scenic drives and more local stops. Pack a cooler for any treats, and leave room in the trunk. You’ll probably need it.