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 Museum is closed for the winter.
Upcoming Events
The Storm and the War that Changed Amherst
The Storm and the War that Changed Amherst
Both the hurricane of 1938 and World War II were transformative events for Amherst College. Listen to Pulitzer Prize winning architectural critic Blair Kamin as he explains the events and the reactions of the college and the community of Amherst.
Unlike Any Other
Unlike Any Other
Lecture with slides by author Ed Londergan. ‘Unlike Any Other’ is a novel based on the life of Bathsheba Spooner, a Revolutionary War-era woman, and Loyalist, married to a man she did not love, who is driven to thoughts of murder
A glimpse into the Amherst History Museum’s permanent collection:

The AHS Bookstore
Help support the Amherst Historical Society! Shop our online store for books that highlight the history of Amherst. Titles include:
- Amherst A to Z by Elizabeth M. Sharpe
- Amherst and Hadley Through the Seasons by Daniel Lombardi
- Harvesting History by Sheila Rainford and Ruth Owen Jones
- History of the Black Population of Amherst 1728-1870 by James Avery Smith
- The Letters of Lathrop & Pomeroy by Lucy Whitelaw Rexford
- The Writing Master, by Kitty Burns Florey


Become a volunteer
Find out how you can help. The Amherst Historical Society depends on the support of the community. We are currently looking for gardeners, educators, fundraisers, and more. Contact us for more information.
Job Posting: visiting curator
The Amherst Historical Society is currently accepting applications for a visiting curator who will work closely with the AHS Collections Committee to re-vision and prepare room exhibits, to create related virtual exhibits for amhersthistory.org, and to design stand alone pop-up exhibits for community partner locations.
AHS UPDATES
UMass Graduation
Happy Graduation to all UMass seniors! We wish you the best of luck in these uncertain times. You may remember that UMass was founded, as Massachusetts Agricultural College, in 1863, when times...
Historic Trees of Amherst
The Amherst Historical Society is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) “Heritage Tree Care Project” for the...
Springfield Armory
This Friday, May 6, our last History Bites of the spring 2022 season will feature Park Ranger Susan Ashman, of the Springfield Armory. She will discuss her historic research, to determine the...
‘History Bites’–Highlights from past seasons

19th Century Spiritualism
Robert Cox – Director of Special Collections at UMass
Dec. 21, 2018
Memory Lands: Native American Perspectives on King Philip’s War
Dr Christine DeLucia
Jan 30, 2020
Jonathan Edwards and the Gospel of Love
Ronald Story
Sept 25, 2015
From Arkham to Amherst
George Naughton
April 21, 2017