There is no one history of Amherst, but there are many stories of the town and its people. Join Amherst Historical Society President George Naughton to hear about the people and events which made the town what it is today.

After the success of the Erie Canal, canals were proposed in many areas of the young United States. Robert Madison will share his research with us, regarding the effort to build a canal from Northampton to New Haven. Begun in 1822 and completed in 1835, the canal only operated until 1847, when it was rendered obsolete by the railroad.

The town of Pelham is located just east of Amherst. It is known for being the home of Daniel Shays, and for losing a portion of its land to the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s. It is also the home of the longest continually-used meeting house in the United States.

Mabel Loomis Todd was married to the Amherst College astronomer, David Peck Todd, and lived in Amherst from 1881 to 1917. She was a world traveler, author, and editor, who, along with Thomas Wentworth Higginson,  was responsible for bringing the poetry of Emily Dickinson into print. She and her husband and daughter were deeply involved in the life of the town, in ways which have not always been recognized.