The Amity Heritage Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Amity Township area history. The mission of AHS is to collect, preserve and disseminate information about our local heritage.Our headquarters, the former Fairview Chapel located on Route 422 and Fairview Chapel Road in Exeter Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, contains numerous historical items, records, documents and artifacts.Amity Heritage Society provides several services including genealogical research, photographic reproductions, and research of historical homes and structures in the area that we serve.

If you need additional information about the services we offer, or have any general historical questions about our area, contact us at [email protected] active membership has grown to over 60. Members enjoy a range of benefits including bi-monthly meetings covering a wide variety of topics. An extensive collection of locally historic items is available for members to see, enjoy, and learn from. Our most recent aquisition is from the estate of Lester Faust of Douglassville. The collection contains many household items from the colonial and victorian period, giving viewers an insight into the everyday lifestyle of that era.Additionally, the Society hosts special events throughout the year including tours, archaeological digs, dedications, and visits to historic homesteads. Many members become involved in volunteer projects, historic preservation efforts, and the like.

Building and Property Research

Our society provides several services to our members and the general public. One of these services is to research historic homes and buildings. This service involves many aspects of property research. We first meet with the property owners to discuss their interests and how in depth they want our research to be. Secondly, we tour the property, studying each of the building’s architectural features, literally right down to the nails. This study allows us to better understand the building’s history and help to determine what features may be original or part of a renovation. Once the architectural review is complete, we then turn to deed research.Deeds give us an understanding of the property ownership through the years and help us to understand which of the property owners may be responsible for the construction of the buildings. In addition to deed research, we also use many different historical documents to aid us in our exploration such as tax records, census records, and wills.Once our work is complete, we provide the property owner with a detailed report about the building’s history as well as any previous owners.

Society Photographs

The Amity Heritage Society has a vast and ever growing photograph collection in its archives.Our photograph collection dates from the late 1800s through current day, with photographs depicting life and times of yesteryear and current historic home and property research project photos.Most of our collection came from several local families who's ancestors took many wonderful photographs, and we thank these families for letting us copy those collections!If you would like to allow us to copy YOUR photograph collection, whether it be large or small, please contact us. It is very important to have these old photos copied and preserved for future generations to come.Most of our photos are available for reproduction if you would like to have copies made of them. There is a fee of $15.00 per photo.