amherst town

Amherst town belongs to Hampshire County and is located in the west-central area of the state Massachusetts. Area of Amherst town covers the territory of 28 square miles. According to the 2000 census 35,000 people live in Amherst town. Amherst town is famous for Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts, three of the Five Colleges.

Amherst town is beautifully inscribed in the area of the valley of Connecticut River being situated in the north-east proximity of Northampton. Amherst town consists of the communities of North Amherst, Amherst, and South Amherst. Hadley is situated close to Amherst town on the west. Amherst town is known from the 18th century and always enjoyed the reputation of distinguished centre of educational activity and development. Many sightseeing and architectural monuments remind of eminent personalities in the Amherst town.

The first document mentioning the area of modern Amherst town is the deed of purchase dated by December 1658 between John Pynchon of Springfield and three native residents. Amherst town celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. When the first English settlers appeared in 1727, this territory and the surrounding areas belonged to the town of Hadley. It gained district status in 1734 and ultimately township rank in 1776, not long before the Declaration of Independence. The governor decided to give the town the name Amherst after Jeffrey Amherst. Jeffrey Amherst was a hero of the French and Indian War who won Canada for the British Crown and expelled France from North America. He supported the American side in the Revolutionary war and it made him popular in New England. He got the title of baron in 1776, became a general in 1778 and a field marshal in 1796 being commander in chief of the British army.

Interesting is the fact that not only Amherst town, Massachusetts, but also several other American towns are named in honor of Baron Jeffrey Amherst. Jeffrey Amherst, however, won also a negative reputation for considering the use of smallpox-covered blankets in war against the Native Americans. This became the reason for periodic attempts to rename Amherst town.

The five colleges of Amherst town exist now against the background of colorful history, attractive present and promising future. Five Colleges is a nonprofit educational consortium organized in 1965 to support and advance the realization of educational and cultural goals of its member institutions, which include four private, liberal arts colleges and the Amherst town campus of the State University. The consortium appeared as a result of an extremely successful collaboration among Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which resulted in the founding of the fifth educational institution, Hampshire College in 1970.

Five Colleges of Amherst town encourage and manage long-term forms of cooperation that favors faculty, students, and staff. This cooperation comprises collective use of educational and cultural resources and facilities, including a joint automated library system, open cross registration, and open theater auditions. The cooperation also presupposes joint departments, associated programs, and inter-campus transportation. The nearness to one another in the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts favors and improves Five College collaboration and their commitment to the liberal arts and to undergraduate education.

History knows numerous exceptional people who contributed to Amherst town fame. The names of several outstanding personalities are connected to Amherst town and its glorious history. Among them is Baron Jeffrey Amherst whose name Amherst town bears. Amherst town is also associated with numerous outstanding writers, poets, and scientists, such as Noah Webster, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Robert Lee Frost and others.

Noah Webster (1758-1843)

Noah Webster left the profound trace in linguistic science first and foremost owing to his extraordinary American Dictionary of the English Language and for his study of American language. During a period from 1812 to 1822 Webster lived in Amherst town and actively assisted in founding Amherst College. For twenty years Noah Webster had been working on his colossal An American Dictionary of the English Language, which in 1825 crowned his efforts.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830-1886)

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson is considered to be one of the most important American poets. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830, in Amherst town, Massachusetts and got her education at Amherst town Academy and at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Emily Dickinson's symbols and figures of speech originate from a sensitive examination of nature and from rich imagination, which frequently take the form of profound contemplation and clever turn of phrase.

Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963)

Robert Lee Frost is one of the most significant modern American poets. Frost taught literature at Amherst Town College, Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, and Harvard University. In his poetry Frost concentrates upon the life and landscapes of rustic America.