| Official Name: | Friendship, New York |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | New York |
| Pushpin Label: | Friendship |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of New York |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Allegany |
| Government Type: | Town Council |
| Leader Title: | Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Bradley Boulovet (D) |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 93.83 |
| Area Land Km2: | 93.80 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.03 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 36.23 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 36.22 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 1960 |
| Population Density Km2: | 20.38 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 52.80 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 510 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1673 |
| Coordinates: | 42.2094°N -78.1356°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 14739 |
| Area Code: | 585 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-003-27705 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0978978 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Est: | 1946 |
Friendship is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2020 census.[2] The town's name was adopted to mark the resolution of earlier conflicts.
Friendship is near the center of Allegany County and is northeast of the city of Olean.
The region was first settled by Euro-Americans around 1806. Originally, the town gained the name of "Bloody Corners" due to the high incidence of feuding, and alleged weekend fights. "The finer citizens took offense, went to the other extreme and officially named it Friendship. In the southern end of the town is the hamlet of Nile. It is believed the named derived from the wishes of early settlers, many of who were Seventh Day Baptists."[3] The town of Friendship was formed in 1815 from part of the town of Caneadea. Later, new towns were formed from parts of Friendship: Cuba (1822), Bolivar (1825) and a part of Wirt (1838).
Many of the original wood structures in Friendship village were destroyed in fires in the 1870s and replaced with brick building. The Hyde House Garden from the Friendship of 1870 has been moved to the Genesee Country Museum.
The Wellman House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The Friendship Free Library was listed in 2008.
In 2015, the town of Friendship celebrated its bicentennial.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 93.8sqkm, of which 0.03sqkm, or 0.04%, is water.[4]
The Southern Tier Expressway (Interstate 86 and New York State Route 17) passes across the town and intersects New York State Route 275 at Friendship village.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 1,927 people, 770 households, and 514 families residing in the town. The population density was 53.2sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 994 housing units at an average density of 27.4sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 96.57% White, 1.87% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.
There were 770 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $26,439, and the median income for a family was $33,542. Males had a median income of $26,440 versus $22,132 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,552. About 17.1% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.