ENOS WILLIAMS MEMORIAL
At the Roots of Amity
The Enos Williams Memorial honors the early people, places, and events that helped shape Amity. In 1849, local residents came together to resolve a disagreement over the location of a new schoolhouse.
Enos and Willamina Williams later deeded land for the community’s “school square.” Churches and schools became important centers of local life. Historic maps, photographs, and stories offer a glimpse into Amity’s growth from a small pioneer settlement into an established community.
Amity High School Dance, ca. 1950
Students gather for an evening of dancing and live music at Amity High School. The photograph offers a glimpse into the social life and traditions of Amity’s students during the mid-twentieth century.
Yamhill Valley News-Register
SNAPSHOT IN TIME
Photos from the past
The Halloween Prank
In 1947, a group of Amity high school students hoisted a buggy up to the school’s bell tower. School principal Rex Menegat said the students that pulled the Halloween prank were never identified. Felte Bontrager claimed the buggy when it was removed from the roof.
Yamhill County Historical Society
First Christian Church West of the Rockies
Reverend Yettens delivers a sermon at the Methodist Church in 1913. You can see three early churches in Amity: the Baptist Church on 6th Street, the Methodist Church on Getchell Avenue, and the Amity Church on Trade Street. The Amity Church, founded in 1846, is thought to be the first Christian church west of the Rocky Mountains. It later housed the school district office.
Yamhill County Historical Society
Amity on the map
This map detail shows some of the landholdings in Amity in 1879.
Library of Congress
Amity High School Graduating Class, 1904
Amity Public School’s first annual commencement celebrated the graduating class of 1904. Pictured are students and faculty, including Lepha Hawley, Jesse Jones, Viola Weston, Bruce Miller, Carrie Robison, Bessie Weston, and teacher Snuffer. S. S. Duncan served as principal.
Yamhill County Historical Society
VOICES OF AMITY
Stories in Their Own Words
Ahio S. Watt
Educator and Early Amity Pioneer
Ahio S. Watt was an early settler, educator, and community leader whose actions helped give Amity its name. In 1849, Watt planned to leave Oregon for the California gold fields, but his neighbors persuaded him to stay and teach school.
He agreed on the condition that the community settle a long-running dispute over where the schoolhouse should be built and work together to construct it. Inspired by the cooperation and “neighborly good feeling” that followed, Watt named the new school “Amity,” meaning friendship and peaceful harmony. The name was later adopted by the growing community.
Ahio Watt: Oregon Historical Society
Amity School Students, 1920
Students continue a tradition of education in Amity that began more than seventy years earlier with Ahio S. Watt and the community’s first school.
Students: Yamhill County Historical Society
INTERACTIVE MAP
Find Your Next Stop
Discover Amity, one stop at a time. Click or tap a marker, then scroll down in the popup and select Learn More to explore that location’s story.