Amity, Madison County, Ohio

Amity is an unincorporated community in north-eastern Canaan Township, Madison County, Ohio, United States. It is located at 40°4′7″N 83°15′5″W,[2] at the intersection of Plain City-Georgesville Road and Amity Pike Road, between Plain City and West Jefferson.[3]

Amity
Unincorporated community
Amity Location in Ohio
Coordinates: 40°4′7″N 83°15′5″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Counties	Madison
Elevation [1]	915 ft (279 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	43064
Area code(s)	614
GNIS feature ID	1077516[1]

History

In 1817, Uri and Lorenzo Beach, two brothers, settled in the area.[4] Previous to their arrival, agriculture was the only business in the area, but Uri Beach built a sawmill along the Big Darby Creek, and later added a carding machine.[4] Spinning and weaving were also done at the factory. This factory provided all of the lumber for northern Madison County's earliest frame buildings.[4]

About 1826, Lorenzo opened a general store of his own,[5] The West Canaan Post Office was established on January 16, 1829,[6] and as of 1831, the community also contained a hotel and a blacksmith shop.[5] A small community began to form around these businesses, so the Beach brothers purchased a tract of land and laid out the community of West Canaan on April 1, 1831,[7] and the name was recorded at the London Courthouse on January 3, 1833.[5] In November 1834, there was additional land added to the town's corporation limits, and the town and post office names were changed to Amity.[5][7] In 1834, Lorenzo opened a second store in another part of town, and as of 1835, the town contained two dry good stores, a woolen factory, a sawmill, a distillery, a comb factory, and a number of blacksmith and minor mechanical trades shops.[5]

At this time, Amity was more of a trading point than Plain City. But a combination of the factory's dam being declared a nuisance and torn down[5] and a trunk-line for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad being laid through Plain City in 1851 caused most of the business to be transferred to the latter. By 1875, Amity had one dry goods store, one wagon and blacksmith shop, one church, and one physician.[4] There was a windmill manufacturing company based in Amity during the 1880s and 1890s.[8] The Amity Post Office was discontinued on July 31, 1901, and the mail service sent through the Plain City branch,[6] and as of 1915, the village contained only one store, and one blacksmith.[5]

Demographics

As of 1875, the population was about 100,[4] and only about 35 in 1915.[5]

References

1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Amity, Madison County, Ohio
3. Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '06. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2006, 80.
4. J. A. Caldwell, Caldwell's Atlas of Madison County, Ohio, Condit, Ohio, 1875, Pg. 10.
5. Bryan, Chester E., History of Madison County, Ohio, B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1915, Pg. 174.
6. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: West Canaan Post Office
7. Overman, William Daniel (1958). Ohio Town Names. Akron, OH: Atlantic Press. p. 4.
8. T. Lindsay Baker, A field guide to American windmills, University of Oklahoma Press, 1985, ISBN 0-8061-1901-2, Pg. 335