Amity is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Allegany County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 2,185 at the 2020 census. The name of the town means "friendship." The Town of Amity is near the middle of Allegany County and is northeast of Olean. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, Belmont, is in Amity.

History

After being first settled ''circa'' 1804, Amity was formed in 1830 from parts of the Towns of

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

and Scio. In 1856, part of Amity was used to found the Town of Ward.

Notable person

* Hamilton Ward, Sr., congressman and judge

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.23%) is water. The

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

flows northward through the town. The Southern Tier Expressway (

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

/ Interstate 86) passes through the northwest corner of the town, north of Belvidere.

New York State Route 19 New York State Route 19 (NY 19) is a north–south state highway in Western New York in the United States. It is the longest state highway in that region, and the only other one besides NY 14 to completely transect the sta ...

and

New York State Route 244 New York State Route 244 (NY 244) is an east–west state highway in Allegany County, New York, in the United States. It runs for from an intersection with New York State Route 19, NY 19 in the village of Belmont, New York, Belmo ...

intersect at Belmont.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,245 people, 885 households, and 601 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,120 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.68%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.76%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.76% of the population. There were 885 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,153, and the median income for a family was $40,387. Males had a median income of $31,394 versus $21,065 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,304. About 7.8% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Amity

*Amity Lake – A small lake by the eastern town line. * Belmont – The Village of Belmont, the county seat, is in the center of the town. *Belvidere – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the northwest part of the town on State Route 19 (Willets Avenue). It was originally called "Hobbyville." The Belvidere Cornerstone, formerly known as Christ Episcopal Church, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974. *Withey – A hamlet in the northeast corner of the town on Route 244 (Mainville Road). *Plum Bottom Creek– A creek that flows through the Town of Amity.

References

External links

Town of Amity official website

* https://t.me/Jusic_on {{authority control New York (state) populated places on the Genesee River Towns in Allegany County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1830 establishments in New York (state)