Amherst is part of the Springfield, MassachusettsMetropolitan Statistical Area. Lying 22 miles (35 km) north of the city of Springfield, Amherst is considered the northernmost town in the Hartford–Springfield Metropolitan Region, "The Knowledge Corridor". Amherst is also located in the Pioneer Valley, which encompasses Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties.
Name
The name of the town is pronounced without the h ("AM-erst") by natives and long-time residents,[7] giving rise to the local saying, "only the 'h' is silent", in reference both to the pronunciation and to the town's politically active populace.[8]
The earliest known document of the lands now comprising Amherst is the deed of purchase dated December 1658 between John Pynchon of Springfield and three native inhabitants, referred to as Umpanchla, Quonquont, and Chickwalopp.[9] According to the deed, "ye Indians of Nolwotogg (Norwottuck) upon ye River of Quinecticott (Connecticut)" sold the entire area in exchange for "two Hundred fatham of Wampam & Twenty fatham, and one large Coate at Eight fatham wch Chickwollop set of, of trusts, besides severall small giftes" [sic].
Amherst was first visited by Europeans no later than 1665, when Nathaniel Dickinson surveyed the lands for its mother town Hadley. The first permanent English settlements arrived in 1727. It remained a part of Hadley, even when it gained precinct status in 1734, before becoming a township in 1759.
When it incorporated, the colonial governor assigned the town the name "Amherst" after Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. Many a colonial governor at the time scattered his name during the influx of new town applications, which is why several towns in the Northeast bear the name. Amherst was Commander-in-Chief of the forces of North America during the French and Indian War who, according to popular legend, singlehandedly won Canada for the British and banished France from North America. Popular belief has it that he supported the American side in the Revolutionary War and resigned his commission rather than fight for the British. Baron Amherst actually remained in the service of the Crown during the war—albeit in Great Britain rather than North America—where he organized the defense against the proposed Franco-Spanish Armada of 1779. Nonetheless, his previous service in the French and Indian War meant he remained popular in New England. Amherst is also infamous for recommending, in a letter to a subordinate, the use of smallpox-covered blankets in warfare against the Native Americans along with any "other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race".[10] For this reason, there have been occasional ad hoc movements to rename the town.[11]
Amherst celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. The Amherst 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee and Amherst Historical Society organized events, including a book published by the Historical Society and written by Elizabeth M. Sharpe, Amherst A to Z.
In 2021 the City Council voted to establish the Amherst African Heritage Reparation Assembly to study reparations for the town's black residents. In 2022, at the Assembly's suggestion, the City Council approved $2,000,000 of initial funding for reparations.
History of town government
The Town converted from an open town meeting to a representative town meeting form in 1938.[12] In 1953, Amherst voters passed the "Town Manager Act", which established the office of a town manager and reduced a number of elected positions.[12] In 1995, a charter commission was approved to study Amherst's government; the charter majority recommended a seven-person Council and a mayor, while also maintaining a reduced size representative Town Meeting (150).[13] This proposal failed in two successive votes.[12]
In 2001, the League of Women Voters Amherst made a number of recommendations that were adopted in 2001 in the form of a revised "Amherst Town Government Act".[14] An effort shortly thereafter to amend the charter to eliminate the town meeting, and establish an elected mayor and a nine-member Town Council,[15] was rejected by voters twice, first in spring 2003 by fourteen votes and again on March 29, 2005 by 252 votes.
In 2016, a charter commission was approved to study Amherst's government. A majority of commissioners proposed a charter that would establish a 13-member council with no mayor.[16][17] This proposal was voted on the March 27, 2018 local ballot,[18] and was passed by over 1,000 votes, a 58% majority.[19] The new town council was sworn in on December 2, 2018.[20]
According to the United States Census Bureau, Amherst has a total area of 27.7 square miles (71.8 km2), of which 27.6 square miles (71.5 km2) are land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.48%, are water.[21] The town is bordered by Hadley to the west, Sunderland and Leverett to the north, Shutesbury, Pelham, and Belchertown to the east, and Granby and South Hadley to the south. The highest point in the town is on the northern shoulder of Mount Norwottuck at the southern border of the town; the peak is in Granby but the town's high point is a few yards away and is about 1,100 feet (340 m). This point is located in the Mount Holyoke Range, which forms the so-called "Tofu Curtain". Amherst is nearly equidistant from Massachusetts' borders with Connecticut and Vermont.
Listing of sights in Amherst, 1886
Amherst's ZIP Code of 01002 is the second-lowest number in the continental United States after Agawam (not counting codes used for specific government buildings such as the IRS).
Climate
Amherst has a humid continental climate that under the Köppen system marginally falls into the warm-summer category (Dfb). It is interchangeable with the hot-summer subtype Dfa with July means hovering around 71.7 °F (22.1 °C). Winters are cold and snowy, albeit daytime temperatures often remain above freezing. Under the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone system, Amherst (ZIP Code 01002) is in zone 5b;[22] however, Amherst closely borders zone 6a, which penetrates into Massachusetts in the Connecticut River Valley, and climate change may be shifting those zones.[23]
Climate data for Amherst, Massachusetts, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 37,819 people, 9,259 households, and 4,484 families residing in the town. There were 9,711 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 76.9% White, 5.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 10.9% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.4% some other race, and 4.1% from two or more races. 7.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[39]
Of the 9,259 households in the town, 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were headed by married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. Of all households, 27.3% were made up of individuals, and 9.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.88.[39]
In the town, 10.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 55.7% were from 18 to 24, 13.3% were from 25 to 44, 13.6% were from 45 to 64, and 7.4% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.[39]
For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $48,059, and the median income for a family was $96,005. Male full-time workers had a median income of $64,750 versus $39,278 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,905. About 8.7% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.[40]
Of residents 25 years old or older, 41.7% have a graduate or professional degree, and only 4.9% did not graduate from high school. The largest industry is education, health, and social services, in which 51.9% of employed persons work.
These statistics given above include some but not all of the large student population, roughly 30,000 in 2010, many of whom only reside in the town part of the year. Amherst is home to thousands of part-time and full-time residents associated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College.
Amherst Regional High School's 1992–93 girls' basketball team inspired the book In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais.[48]
The University of Massachusetts Amherst's Ultimate Frisbee Team was ranked first in the Division 1 Men's Ultimate league for the 2017 season.[49][50]
The Amherst Invitational, founded in 1992, is the oldest high school Ultimate Frisbee tournament in the United States.[51]
Government
Town Hall
Amherst has a town council for its legislative branch and a town manager for its executive branch. The town manager is appointed by the town council.[52]
Amherst's town council consists of ten district councilors and three councilors-at-large. Two district councilors are elected from each of five districts in Amherst. The three councilors-at-large are elected by the whole town. Each councilor serves a two-year term, except for the first council, where each member will serve a three-year term.[52]
Amherst also has the following elected bodies:[52]
A five-member School Committee with two-year terms.
A six-member library board of trustees with two-year terms.
A single Oliver Smith Will Elector with a two-year term.
Amherst also has a five-member housing authority where three of the five members are elected by voters. Each member serves a two-year term.[52]
Like many college towns, Amherst leans heavily Democratic. In each of the presidential elections from 2012 to 2020, more than 80% of Amherst's votes went to the Democratic candidate.
The town is part of the Amherst Regional School District along with Leverett, Pelham, and Shutesbury. Amherst has three elementary schools: Crocker Farm Elementary School, Fort River Elementary School, and Wildwood Elementary School serving K–6. Students in Amherst then attend Amherst Regional Middle School for grades 7–8. High school students then attend Amherst Regional High School.
The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, funded by local governments and the Five College Consortium, provides public transportation in the area, operated by University of Massachusetts Transportation Services. Service runs well into the early morning hours on weekends when school is in session. Students attending any colleges in the Five Colleges Consortium have a fee included in their tuition bills (service fee for UMass Amherst students and student activity fees for the other colleges) for each semester that prepays their bus fares for the semester. UMass Transit buses operate via a proof-of-payment system, in which there are random inspections of student identification cards and bus passes and transfers.
The closest major domestic and limited international air service is available through Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Bradley is located approximately one hour's driving time from Amherst. Major international service is available through Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston, 90 miles away.
Since 1997, the local newspaper, the Amherst Bulletin, has published a weekly log of phone calls received by the Amherst Police Department.[63] This police report, whose tone is deadpan and often unintentionally humorous, has been the subject of at least two books[64][65] and a 2002 article in Harper's Magazine, "Gone When Police Got There".[66] For example, an entry from the March 27, 2015 police report reads: "2:48 a.m.—An Ann Whalen Apartments resident awoke to find someone on her balcony looking into her bedroom. The woman later told police she thinks she may have been dreaming prior to calling 911."[67]
Notable people
Historical
Chinua Achebe (1930–2013), was a professor at the University of Massachusetts from 1972 to 1976
Arthur Lithgow (1915–2004), lived and died in Amherst, noted actor, producer and director of Shakespeare plays, founder of the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Ohio (today known as the Great Lakes Theatre Festival), former director of the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, father of actor John Lithgow
Ebenezer Mattoon (1755–1843), born in North Amherst, Lieutenant in Continental Army during American Revolution, US Congressman (1801–1803).[69]
Paul Nitze (1907–2004), born in Amherst, diplomat who helped shape defense policy over numerous presidential administrations
Julius Hawley Seelye (1824–1895), Amherst college professor, united States Representative (1875–1877), 5th President of Amherst College
^Hollander, Paul (1981). Political Pilgrims: Western Intellectuals in Search of the Good Society. Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. p. xxv. ISBN9781412831208. Retrieved April 7, 2013. Brentlinger, a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was robustly and proudly alienated from American society and culture ... he has probably benefited from living amidst like-minded people in what has been jestingly called 'the people's republic of Amherst, Mass.'
^Arkes, Hadley (1996). "Response to Fund". In Schaefer, David Lewis; Schaefer, Roberta Rubel (eds.). The future of cities. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, Inc. p. 9. ISBN9780761802709. Retrieved April 7, 2013. I come to you from one of those places that is in America, but not quite of it...In my case it is the People's Republic of Amherst
^Sarat, Austin (2008). "Contested Terrain: Visions of Multiculturalism in an American Town". In Minow, Martha; Shweder, Richard A.; Markus, Hazel (eds.). Just Schools: Pursuing Equality in Societies of Difference. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. p. 102. ISBN9781610447263. Retrieved April 7, 2013. I live in a place whose liberal tendencies have earned it various nicknames. For example, it has been called 'The People's Republic of Amherst'
^"Amherst". Dictionary.com. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
^"1950 Census of Population"(PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1920 Census of Population"(PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1890 Census of the Population"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1870 Census of the Population"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1860 Census"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1850 Census"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"amherstma.gov"(PDF). amherstma.gov. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 26, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
Core cities are metropolitan core cities of at least a million people. The other areas are urban areas of cities that have an urban area of 150,000+ or of a metropolitan area of at least 250,000+. Satellite cities are in italics.
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