Amherst

Amherst, town (1990 pop. 35,228), Hampshire co., central Mass., in a fertile farm area; inc. 1759. Named for Lord Jeffery Amherst, it is a college town. Emily Dickinson was born and lived there all her life. Helen Hunt Jackson was also born there, and Ray Stannard Baker, Eugene Field, Robert Frost, and Noah Webster lived in the town. It is the seat of the Univ. of Massachusetts, Hampshire College, and Amherst College. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is there.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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