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A−History
History · Amity

Amity dates to 1848, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Briedwell School. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1900.

1848founded
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Amity began

When was Amity founded?

1848

Amity dates its founding to 1848 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 292 in 19002020 census: 1,757178 years

How historic is Amity?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Amity’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Amity is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Amity’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.2% of homes (±6.7) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 9.6 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Amity’s 9.6 sits above most of its state (70% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). Two sources give 1848.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

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.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1913, drew every building in Amity.Deep rootsEstablished in 1848: 178 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
Every building

Amity, building by building, 1884–1913

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, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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.

Timeline

Amity, 1848 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848
    FoundingAmity is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Amity post office opens
  4. 1895BuiltBriedwell School is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1926On 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 →

The town was established between 1848 and 1849 by Joseph and Ahio S. Watt, two brothers who had immigrated to Oregon over the Oregon Trail. Part of Joseph's land claim became the community's townsite. The name "Amity" came from the name of a school that was built by two rival communities after the amicable settlement of a dispute. Ahio, the first teacher, named the school. Amity post office was established in 1852. Joseph established the first woolen mill in Oregon, and in 1868 shipped wheat to England in the first instance of Oregon wheat being sent around Cape Horn. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on October 19, 1880, originally as a town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Amity, decade by decade

Today10 recent
2017-11-26 Amity 0620172017-11-26 Amity 062017-11-26 Amity 0520172017-11-26 Amity 052017-11-26 Amity 0420172017-11-26 Amity 042017-11-26 Amity 0320172017-11-26 Amity 032017-11-26 Amity 0220172017-11-26 Amity 022017-11-26 Amity 0120172017-11-26 Amity 01Morroco in Oregon2014Morroco in OregonFrench Prairie Near2009French Prairie NearAmity, Oregon aerial2009Amity, Oregon aerialORMap-doton-Amity2004ORMap-doton-Amity
On the map

Amity on the map, 1926 to 1970

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 1926 USGS mapAmity on the 1940 USGS mapAmity on the 1957 USGS mapAmity on the 1970 USGS map1926Mc Minnville sheet · 1:62,500

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

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
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Briedwell School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Lake Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
Briedwell SchoolLake Victorian · Built 1895

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

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80019001920194019601980200020201,757

Grew from 292 people in 1900 to 1,757 in 2020, 6 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Amity

Nobody well known was born in Amity itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Beverly ClearyAmerican writer of children's books · b. 1916
John ZerzanAmerican anarchist and primitivist philosopher … · b. 1943
Justin KirkAmerican actor · b. 1969
Alfred Carlton GilbertAmerican athlete, inventor, and businessman · b. 1884
Johnnie RayAmerican singer and pianist · b. 1927
D
Debbie ArmstrongAmerican alpine skier · b. 1963

Questions about Amity’s history

What year was Amity founded?

In 1848, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amity’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1900 counted 292 people here.

How does Amity rank for history?

Amity is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Amity?

One place: the Briedwell School (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Amity?

13% of Amity’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1978.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), 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.