The "Leut"
Differences among the leut

Three different branches of Hutterites live in the prairies of North America, the Schmiedeleut, the Dariusleut and the Lehrerleut.  Even though all three "leut" are Hutterites, there are some distinctive differences.  However, it should be noted, that the original doctrine of all three groups is identical.  The differences are mostly traditional and geographical. 
 

1.  Schmiedeleut

Hutterian Brethren (Group 1) (Elder Jacob Kleinsasser, Crystal Spring, MB)
Group 2 Hutterites (Gibbs) (No Elder)

2.  Dariusleut (Elder Martin Walter, Spring Point Colony, AB)

3.  Lehrerleut (Elder John Wipf, Rose Town Colony, SK)

The Schmiedeleut subdivided into two groups, the Hutterian Brethren and the Committee Hutterites, in 1992.

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Geographical Locations of Hutterites

The Lehrerleut and the Dariusleut are located in the north-western part of North America, in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Colombia, Montana, and Washington and Oregon.

The Schmiedeleut are all found in central North America in the province of Manitoba and the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

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Dress Style Differences

        All three Leut wear modest clothing but different traditions have molded each group's distinctive clothing style.  The Lehrerleut probably wear the most conservative clothing, followed by the Darius and and then the Schmiedeleut.

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Origins of the 3 "Leut"

The Hutterites immigrated to the United States from Russia between 1874 and 1879. 

These three groups share a common ancestry but differ basically in that they had different leaders upon immigrating into the Dakotas.

Schmiedeleut:  The Schmiedeleut, under the eldership of Rev. Michael Waldner, established the first Hutterite Colony (Bon Homme) on North American soil in 1874.  Rev. Michael Waldner was a Schmied (or blacksmith) hence the name, Schmiedeleut.

Bon homme Colony is located near Yankton SD, on the banks of the Missouri River, and is still inhabited today. 
 

Dariusleut:  The Dariusleut established Wolfcreek Colony near Olivet SD in 1875.  The leader of the group was named Darius Walter.  Hence, they are called Dariusleut.  Originally the Schmiedeleut and the Dariusleut had a single elder, Schmied Micheal.

The original Wolf Creek colony was sold in 1930 when the Dariusleut migrated to Alberta, Canada.  Later, in 1963 the colony site was purchased by Tschetter Colony and rebuilt nearby.  The colony name remained Wolf Creek.

 
Lehrerleut:  The Lehrerleut established Elm Spring Colony in 1877.  The leader of the Lehrerleut, Jakob Wipf, was a teacher (Lehrer), hence their name, Lehrerleut.

After selling this colony site in 1929, the Lehrerleut migrated to Canada, settling in Alberta.  The original colony site was purchased in 1936 by a Schmiedeleut colony (Maxwell Col, MB) and renamed New Elm Spring.

Close to 45 000 Hutterites live on 460 colonies in North America today.