Amherst Historical Society and Museum

History Begins at Home

Explore the Museum

The Amherst History Museum opened in 1916 and is governed by the Amherst Historical Society, which was founded in 1899. Housed in the 1750-era Simeon Strong House, the Amherst History Museum takes visitors on a journey from the town’s colonial past, through its industrial age and into the computer-driven present.

The Museum is filled with decorative arts, paintings, household implements, agricultural tools and other pieces of history from the nearly three hundred years since Amherst was settled. The collections range from the ordinary to the unique, and capture a sense of every day life often missing from history books. In addition to rotating exhibits and special programming, the Museum provides educational tours for school children and students throughout the year.

We regret that the Museum will be closed at least until August 1, 2021. Call 413.256.0678 for more information, or email info@amhersthistory.org.

Funding from Mass Humanities has been provided in support of the Amherst History Museum through the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Funding from Mass Humanities has been provided through the Massachusetts Cultural Council

About the Amherst History Museum

The Amherst History Society cooperated with Jones Library and the UMass Public History Department to present a series of lectures on brutalist architecture on the UMass campus.

“Brut” Bites: Lunchtime talks on UMass Amherst’s modernist architecture

April 12: UMass Campus Then and Now
     Speakers: Ron Michaud and Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham
Description: The UMass campus has always been a place of dynamic change. By pairing archival photographs with contemporary images, retired faculty member Ron Michaud and Senior Campus Planner Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham will invite participants to reflect on how the campus has changed over time.  What has been lost? What has been gained?

April 19: The History and Cultures of the Southwest Residential Complex
     Speaker: Timothy M. Rohan
Description: Completed in 1968, the towers of the Southwest Residential Complex have made a big impact on our local landscape. What is the history of this large complex, which can house up to 5500 students?  What does it tell us about modern architecture, the campus, the community, and the region in the 1960s and after? How did its diverse communities create their own unique cultures within this “big city”-like environment?

April 26: Unbuilt UMass: A History of Campus Master Plans
     Speaker: Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham
Description: The UMass campus is familiar to many, but was it always going to look the way it does today? How has the campus been envisioned over time?  What forces and priorities shaped the plans that we recognize today, and what other plans were never realized?  Peek inside the history of campus master plans with Senior Campus Planner Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham to explore the evolving vision for the UMass Amherst campus, from its beginning to the present.

May 3: The History of the Randolph W. Bromery Fine Arts Center
     Speakers: L. Carl Fiocchi and Margaret Vickery
Description: Since its construction in 1975, The Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts (formerly Fine Arts Center) has been a central force in the cultural, social and academic life of the Town of Amherst, the University, the Five College campuses, and the Pioneer Valley.  This uncompromisingly modern concrete building consists of several distinctly different units which are combined to form a powerful architectural sculpture.

The mission of the Amherst Historical Society is to connect people
to the town of Amherst, its history, and its culture.

The Society was founded in 1899 by Mabel Loomis Todd, and in 1916 it moved into the historic Simeon Strong house. Over the years, the Society has collected a wide variety of resources for learning about the town of Amherst. We have artifacts dating back to the earliest days of the town, and papers and photographs from more recent years. On our website you may find links to walking tours of Amherst, a list of books about Amherst, and even a collection of historic postcards.

We host a biweekly lecture series, ‘History Bites,’ as well as evening performances and historic tours. Our eighteenth-century garden is maintained by the Garden Club of Amherst, and last year we hosted a Thursday evening farmers’ and artisans’ market on our front lawn.

About the Museum

Visit the Amherst History Museum, located at the Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst MA. We held our first exhibition in 1899, received our charter in 1903, and are celebrating over 100 years of the Society’s ownership of the c.1759 Simeon Strong House.

The Amherst History Museum is closed for the 2020 season due to the coronavirus. You can find directions here.

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Support Us


The Amherst History Museum accepts donations of any size at any time of the year. We hold our Annual Appeal in late November and renew all memberships in the Spring.

A gift to the Amherst History Museum, whether in memory of a loved one or in honor of a special accomplishment, is always a unique way to help the Amherst Community and recognize an extraordinary individual.

BECOME A MEMBER

Amherst A to Z

Want to know where Amherst’s Cold War bunker is located? Or where the “curragh” district of Amherst was? Or learn about a local factory that made “collapsing skirts!”

These are all entries under the letter “C” in the book Amherst A to Z, written by Elizabeth Sharpe. The book is illustrated with pictures of artifacts from the Amherst History Museum, historic images from the Jones Library’s Special Collections, as well as photographs of our town and the folks who live here.

BUY THE BOOK