Amherst Historical Society and Museum

History Begins at Home

History Bites- Lunchtime Lecture Series

History Bites is a series of thirty minute lectures to inform and entertain, covering various aspects of the history of Amherst and the lives of those who once lived here.

The current season of History Bites is being presented on Zoom, with the help of our friends at Amherst Media, who are handling the technical aspect.

Thanks to the work of our dedicated trustees, you can view archived video of past History Bites lectures here.

    The Spring 2021 History Bites lecture series is now underway.  Here is the schedule for lectures in the late winter and spring of 2021.

All lectures are scheduled for 12 o’clock noon.

 

The Black Cats of Amherst
April 23, 2021
Jim Hamilton
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Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in April of 1917, a group of Amherst residents, including townspeople, students, and college professors, enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in an ambulance unit supporting French soldiers. Driving Model T and Fiat trucks, this unit, nicknamed the Black Cats of Amherst, served with distinction in France and Belgium during the last year of World War I. Jim Hamilton will describe their exploits using contemporary photographs, newspaper articles, diary accounts, letters, and quotes from their unit history.
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Jim Hamilton is a graduate of Amherst College and the grandson of a Black Cat. He has published two books related to the Black Cats. The first is The Black Cats of Amherst and the second is We Unite to Serve: The Wartime Diaries of Reverend Stoddard Lane. For more information on Jim’s writing projects, see www.greenharbor.com.
Here is the Zoom link for the lecture:   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82170463557

Shays’ Rebellion
May 7, 2021
Dr Barbara Mathews
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At a time when the survival of the American experiment in government by and for the people was neither destined nor assured, the Massachusetts uprising labeled “Shays’ Rebellion” fueled speculation that the new United States could not survive for long. While most widely known for the bloody confrontation at the United States Arsenal at Springfield in January 1787, the lasting legacy of the Massachusetts Regulators and their sympathizers was in the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution.

Barbara Mathews is the Public Historian and Director of Academic Programs at Historic Deerfield. She was the content director, historian, and writer for the website From Revolution to Constitution: Shays’ Rebellion & the Making of a Nation, a collaboration among the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Springfield Technical Community College, and the Springfield Armory funded through a We The People grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

DuBois Library Special Collections
May 21, 2021
Dr Aaron Rubinstein

Dubois Library Special Collections is a growing resource for local history. The new Director, Aaron Rubinstein, will share his vision of what the collection is, and what it can be.

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.

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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