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History · Amity

Amity dates to 1847, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Amity was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Bank of Amity, Old. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1880.

1847founded
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Amity began

When was Amity founded?

1847

Amity dates its founding to 1847 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 140 in 18802020 census: 681179 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓

What stands out about Amity’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Amity are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1847: 179 years of Amity.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Amity’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Amity’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Amity, 1847 to 1966

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingAmity is established
  3. 1848Post officeThe Amity post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Amity came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amity.

Read it all →

Amity was founded in 1847 by several pioneer families from the Mount Bethel area of Clark County under the leadership of William F. Browning, who served as the Clark County surveyor from 1846 until his death in 1854. The group settled along the Caddo River, drawn to the area by an abundance of rich bottomland and fresh water. Browning constructed a two-story log house just west of Caney Creek, which soon became the center of the expanding community. It was Browning who gave Amity its name.

ChaptersRecent history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Amity, decade by decade

Today2 recent
OLD BANK OF2007OLD BANK OFARMap-doton-Amity2005ARMap-doton-Amity
On the map

Amity on the map, 1966 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Amity. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Amity on the 1966 USGS mapAmity on the 1986 USGS map1966Amity sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Amity.

Every building

Amity, building by building, 1913–1919

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Amity fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Amity

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Bank of Amity, Old
Bank of Amity, Old
Buildings
Bank of Amity, OldBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Amity, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 859

Between 140 and 859 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Amity’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Amity’s history

What year was Amity founded?

In 1847, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amity’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 140 people here.

What is on the National Register in Amity?

One place: the Bank of Amity, Old (listed 1991).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.