Amity
Government | Local Offices | History | Events | Community | Visiting | Weather
PA Legislative DirectoryAmity Township is mostly rural, with several acres of State Game Lands. Two state highways run through – Routes 8 and 89 – and
these and smaller township roads afford an opportunity for visitors to see the land, and to see the efforts of the French Creek Project as its seeks to control and
preserve the historic French Creek. Amity Township welcomes you!
Government
General Data |
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Total Assessed Evaluation 100% |
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28.70 |
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Township Millage (OPT) ($) |
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1/2 |
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Yes |
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Yes |
Roads |
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Back to Top
Local Offices
Amity Township
Supervisors |
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Hours: Tuesday –
Thursday
9 a.m. - Noon |
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Bob Warner, Chairman
Skip Kimmy, Roadmaster
Dave Kirik |
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Meeting Dates: First Monday, 7 p.m.; Third Monday, 7 p.m. |
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Mark J. Corey & Associates |
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Rebecca Kirik, Chr.
Carol Skarzenski, Sec.
Katrina McDougall |
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Real Estate
Louise Shinko |
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1% Wage
Berkheimer Associates |
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Emergency Management Coordinator |
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Wattsburg Area School District |
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Wattsburg Hose Co. |
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State Police, Corry Office |
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History Amity Township was organized in 1825, a quarter century after the county was
organized. It was created entirely out of the older Union Township to the south. It is the least populated township in the county, with no incorporated boroughs
and no hamlets of any size. In the 19th Century Amity boasted two post offices. One was called Lake
Pleasant and was located in a small village with the name of Arbuckle. This little community was originally called Milltown and was located along a stream that
empties into the outlet for Lake Pleasant, an inland lake in Greene Township. The first sawmill in the county was located here on that stream. The little town
had several other mills, a school and as many as 30 other buildings. Generally about 100 people lived there.
The other post office was called Hatch Hollow in a village of the same name. It was a small community along the Old Wattsburg Road. Hatch Hollow is a quaint
name, but a profound event occurred there in 1857 when Ida Minerva Tarbell was born near that community on her grandfather's farm. After oil was discovered
south of there, Tarbell's father took his family to the oil region where she grew up. It was there that she observed all the procedures and practices of the oil industry
of that time. Tarbell was intensely interested in research and chose biology as a career. She attended Allegheny College in Meadville as one of the first dozen
women to attend there. After graduation she taught a few years, then went to work writing for the Chautauquan, a publication in the Titusville settlement. In the
1890s Tarbell went to Paris, France, to seek out historical and living personalities there. She intended to write biographies and always conducted serious, in-depth
research on her subjects. S. S. McClure, editor of a new publication he named for himself, sought her out and induced her to write for his magazine. Her first
assignment was on Abraham Lincoln, and turned into a lengthy book, which is still regarded as an excellent resource. Another assignment was more current: a
study of the Standard Oil Company and its owner, John D. Rockefeller. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt called Tarbell and her fellow writers on the magazine
"muckrakers," for they "raked (for information) in a field of muck." Today they would be called investigative reporters. The hidden facts they uncovered and
printed did much to improve certain conditions and practices of the day. Tarbell's many articles were compiled into a book, The History of the Standard Oil Company
, and led ultimately to federal laws being passed that regulated monopolies and big business. She continued writing and contributing her talents
to worthy causes for many years until her death in 1944. Two years before, her home county had recognized her accomplishments with a bronze plaque
attached to a "native boulder" at the Wattsburg Middle School. In addition, there is an historic marker alongside the road in the Hatch Hollow area that tells her story. In the early 1970's, the Army Corps of Engineers produced a profound event with the establishment of the Union City Dam & Reservoir. French Creek had been flooding communities downstream for many years and in the early 1960's a plan was drawn to correct the problem and the flooding is now under control.
Back to Top Events All Year
- Amity Township has three churches: the Christian Missionary Alliance Church, First Assembly of God, and the Hatch Hollow Baptist Church.
They each sponsor various events throughout the year.
- The Wattsburg Hose Company provides fire protection for Amity Township and those volunteers, as well as the Auxiliary also schedule events/fundraisers during the year
- Amity is a beautiful, rural township that invites country living.
Back to Top COMMUNITY
- Residents of Amity may join the Greene Township Lions Club.
- Greenfield Township Fire Department
- Greenfield Township Fire Department Auxiliary
- Lions Club (Greene Township)
Back to Top VISITING
Amity Township was home to an internationally known and respected writer, Ida Minerva Tarbell. An historic marker detailing some of her career is located at
about the intersection of Old Wattsburg Road and Hatch Hollow Road. During Spring run-off or times of excessive rains the township is covered by backed-up waters of the Union City Dam & Reservoir. At these times you can view this pool especially well from Route 8 or Wattsburg-Waterford Road which cross over it. A pair of eagles has made this area their home. The Union City Dam is located further south in Waterford Township.
Arbuckle is a small community in the township that was never incorporated as a borough. Several buildings and a business still exist in this hamlet which is located near the Lake Pleasant outlet. It can be reached by turning north on Arbuckle Road off Route 8. Lake Pleasant is located just northwest in Venango Township and is a fine recreational area.
Lake Pleasant is located just east in Venango Township and is a fine recreational area. |
