Town of Amherst Collection, ca. 1828 - present (bulk: 1920 - 1959)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarang Gopalakrishnan. 2003-12-03
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Town of Amherst Collection
Creation of Town of Amherst Collection
Time of Creation of Town of Amherst Collection
2 records storage boxes, 1 oversize flat box
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Town of Amherst Collection contains materials dating from 1828 to the present, with the bulk of the material dated 1920-1959. The materials include: written histories of the town; local government records; records of schools, private organizations, and local businesses; and some personal papers. Also included are souvenirs and programs of community events, maps of the town, and a large number of newspaper clippings. The most extensive group of records within the collection is "City Planning" (in the Local Government Series), consisting mostly of correspondence, minutes, and reports of the Town Planning Board and the Massachusetts Federation of Planning Boards (ca. 1920-1927). Town planning reports and maps from other towns have been kept with this group because of their connection to the Federation. (The Amherst Town Planning Board was also a member.) Also of interest are the Amherst Historical Society records. These include correspondence between Mabel Loomis Todd and a Boston attorney regarding the founding of the Society. A number of photographs of the Strong House Museum, originally included, have been removed to the Photographic Images Collection. The Histories Series includes three histories of Amherst and the Connecticut Valley, written by Alice M. Walker and printed in 1901 and 1903, as well as an Amherst College class paper that includes several oral histories of town residents. In the Schools Series are materials relating to specific Amherst schools. The Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution, also known as Mt. Pleasant Institute, is well represented.
City planning--Massachusetts.
lcsh
City planning--Massachusetts--Amherst.
Walker, Alice M. (Alice Morehouse), 1855-1929.
lcnaf
Amherst Historical Society, Amherst, Mass.
Amherst (Mass.). Planning Board.
Massachusetts Federation of Planning Boards.
series
Series 1:GENERAL, 1889-1969
Series 1, GENERAL (1889-1969), contains materials that give an overview or description of the town, though not necessarily from a historical perspective. Included here are tourist brochures, maps of the town, and photographic images such as picture booklets and postcards. (Note: True photographs have been removed to the Photographic Images Collection.) Materials here are arranged alphabetically by type.
Guidebooks, brochures, etc. 1912-c.1960
Maps, List of 1969
Maps (See also: Map Case 3, Drawer 11) 1833, 1917-1918, 1953, 1963
Photographic images: "Amherst and Amherst College"booklet 1889-1890
Photographic images: "Views of Amherst, Mass." - booklet c.1900
Photographic images - postcards n.d.
Chronology of Events in the Development of the Town of Amherst, 1927-1974 1975
Series 2: HISTORIES, ca. 1860-1972
Series 2, HISTORIES (ca.1860-1972), contains written histories of Amherst and the Connecticut Valley by Alice M. Walker, printed in 1901 and 1903, as well as materials relating to the town's history (e.g., a chronology of the town). They are arranged alphabetically by type. (See also: Business Enterprises - Heritage Bank, "150 Years...", General - Guidebooks, brochures, etc., Clippings, Newspapers)
Amherst College English 25 (Small Town Literature), "Amherst" - class project (includes oral histories) 1972
Chronology (1727-1898) 1911
Description of Amherst c.1860-1870
"Historic Amherst" - booklet n.d.
"Historical Landmarks Near Amherst" by Fredrick Houk Law n.d.
Leave the light burning, a history of South Amherst by W.H. Atkins (1871-1952) - flier n.d.
"The Spring Street Area of Amherst: A Local History Study" by Ed Wilfert; %unitdate%=2007-2008
Walker, Alice M., Early days in the Connecticut Valley 1901
Walker, Alice M., Ye Amherst girl of ye olden time 1901
Walker, Alice M., Through Turkey Pass to Amherst and beyond 1903
Series 3: ANNIVERSARIES, ca. 1909-1959
Series 3, ANNIVERSARIES (ca.1909-1959), contains materials relating to the Bicentennial of Amherst, the Tercentenaries of Amherst and Massachusetts, and Independence Day celebrations. It includes programs, fliers, and correspondence of the planning committees. The material is arranged alphabetically by name of event. (See also: Newspapers - Anniversary editions, Community Events, Clippings - Anniversaries)
Bicentennial Celebration -brochures, programs, etc. 1959
Bicentennial Celebration - correspondence 1958-1959
Independence Day 1915, 1918
Tercentenary of Amherst - program 1909
Tercentenary of Massachusetts Celebration 1930
Series 4: COMMUNITY EVENTS, ca. 1875-1959
Series 4, COMMUNITY EVENTS (ca.1875-1959), includes programs, fliers, and ticket stubs for concerts, lectures, festivals, and Old Home Week activities. These are arranged alphabetically by name of event. (See also: Anniversaries, Clippings - Community Events)
A.C.C. 3rd Annual Meet 1897
Amherst Arts Festival 1943
"Amherst Christmas Mystery" 1916
Amherst Community Chest Drive 1954, 1958-1959
Amherst Community Sing (Fourth of July) 1918
Columbus Memorial 1892
Goessman School Concert Series (ticket stub) n.d.
Old Home Week 1903
Unsorted - programs, fliers, ticket stubs, etc. 1875, 1891-1892
Series 5: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ca. 1840-1966
Series 5, LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ca.1840-1966), is divided into several categories, the largest titled "City Planning" Other groups in this series are Town Reports, Elections, Town Employees, Town Relations with Local Colleges (a report), and General Information. The subseries are arranged alphabetically. (See also: Clippings - Local Government)
Brochures, pamphlets, etc. 1947-1959
City Planning - Amherst Water Committee - report 1935
City Planning - general correspondence 1901, 1906
City Planning - Real Estate - index to property owners 1963-1964
City Planning - Real Estate - comparative valuation lists 1963-1964
City Planning - Town Planning Board - correspondence 1922-1924
City Planning - Town Planning Board - correspondence ca.1924-1926
City Planning - Town Planning Board - correspondence 1927
City Planning - Town Planning Board - minutes of meetings 1915-1924
City Planning - Town Planning Board - Massachusetts Federation of Planning Boards (M.F.P.B.) - publications 1921-1926
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - publications ca.1926
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - publications (Dept. of Public Welfare, Division of House and Town Planning) 1922, 1960
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - other towns - maps
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - other towns: Attleboro-Dedham - reports 1922-1966
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - other towns: Framingham-North Adams - reports 1923-1926
City Planning - Town Planning Board - M.F.P.B. - other towns: Quincy-Winchester - reports 1924-1926
City Planning - Zoning By-laws - correspondence and reports 1922-1924
City Planning - Zoning By-laws - correspondence and reports 1926-1927
City Planning - Zoning By-laws - general information 1958
City Planning - Zoning By-laws - League of Women Voters - flier n.d.
Elections - political badges 1840
Elections 1946-1953
Town relations with local colleges - report 1959
Town employees - salaries, by-laws 1954, n.d.
Town Report 1924
Town Report (Bicentennial year) 1959
Town Report 1967
Series 6: SCHOOLS, ca. 1819-1971
Series 6, SCHOOLS (ca.1819-1971), is also divided into categories, including Buildings (plans, correspondence, and reports relating to the construction of new school buildings), Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, individual Schools (including local colleges), and Chinese students. The categories are arranged alphabetically. (See also: Clippings - Schools, Newspapers - Amherst Record 10/7/1970 and Daily Hampshire Gazette n.d. - "Hampshire College Edition" for information on Hampshire College)
Amherst-Pelham Regional School District - fliers, brochures 1915, 1953, 1971
Amherst-Pelham Regional School District - Report of the School Committee 1959
Amherst-Pelham Regional School District - correspondence re: Grade School 1926
Buildings - correspondence 1916
Buildings - report, brochure 1944, 1949
Buildings - map (plan for Amherst Regional High School) n.d.
Chinese Students in Amherst - correspondence, clippings 1841, 1847, 1903, 1915
Alcott School - "Statement of Facts" n.d.
Amherst Academy - "Amherst Academy", by Sarah A. Stackpole (in Thesis Collection) and Memorabilia 1984
Amherst Female Seminary - catalogue 1835
Amherst Female Seminary excerpt from letter 1835
Amherst High School - graduation programs 1887, 1891
Amoena Hall - brochure [1870]
Andover Theological Seminary - catalogs 1831, 1845
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution (also known as Mt. Pleasant Institute and Mt. Pleasant Academy) - catalogs 1828
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - catalogs, etc. 1829-1831
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - brochures, exam schedule 1846-1847, 1857
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - catalogs 1890-1892
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - brochures n.d.
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - correspondence 1831
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - drawings 1827, n.d.
Mt. Pleasant Classical Institution - articles, excerpts from 1896, 1927, 1958, 1969
Oak Grove - brochure n.d.
Scripture catechism 1819
University of Massachusetts (formerly Massachusetts State College) - addresses 1898, 1907
University of Massachusetts - histories, etc. 1932, 1936
University of Massachusetts - University of Massachusetts Press - book list 1966-1967
Series 7: BUSINESS ENTERPRISES, ca. 1865-1984
Series 7, BUSINESS ENTERPRISES (ca.1865-1984), contains materials arranged alphabetically by name of business. (Note: Records of the Lord Jeffery Inn have been removed to the Buildings and Grounds Collection.) (See also: Clippings - Business Enterprises)
Amherst Savings Bank - brochure 1968
Amherst & Sunderland Railway Co.
Dentist, J.J. Vincent - appointment card ca.1870
Douglass Funeral Service - brochure n.d.
Grange Grocery Store - brochure 1927
Heritage Bank, "150 Years...1834-1984" booklet 1984
"Industry in Massachusetts" - statistics 1865
The Geoffery Amherst Bookstore -correspondence, article 1922-1923
Lord Jeffery Inn/Amherst Inn Co. (removed to Buildings and Grounds Collection) ca.1910-1950
"The Minds of Hands", by Stephen A. Aron (in Thesis Collection) 1982
Orr, Samuel K., Druggist & Apothecary - advertisement n.d.
Railroads (Palmer to Montague) - correspondence n.d.
Railroads - Amherst & Belchertown R.R. Co. - stockholders' receipts n.d.
Railroads - Amherst and Sunderland Railway Co. - schedule n.d.
Business advertisements - unsorted n.d.
Series 8: ASSOCIATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, ETC., ca. 1853-1986
Series 8, ASSOCIATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, ETC. (ca.1853-1986), is arranged alphabetically by name of association or institution. (See also: Clippings - Associations,...)
Amherst Historical Society - correspondence (Mabel Loomis Todd) 1903
Amherst Historical Society - correspondence 1950-1965
Amherst Historical Society - n.d. unsorted materials 1929-1959
Amherst Home for Aged Women -report 1928
Amherst Musical Society - program 1942
Amherst Human Relations Council, Inc. - newsletter 1969
"The Amherst Town Band of 1873-1877 and the Amherst Brass Band of 1901", by Benjamin J. Jaffe - paper 1986
Boys' Club - newsletter 1938
Boys' Club - list of members n.d.
Glee Club - programs 1888
Hampshire Agricultural Society - exhibition flier 1853
Jones Library - unsorted brochures, reports, fliers, postcards 1927-1928
Masons - 110th Anniversary program 1911
Pioneer Valley Antique Dealers Association - list of members 1959-1960
Tuesday Club - program 1917-1918
Wildwood Cemetery - brochure 1904
Y.M.C.A. - weekly program n.d.
First Baptist Church Centennial 1932
Series 9: CHURCHES, ca. 1834-1968
Series 9, CHURCHES (ca.1834-1968), is arranged alphabetically by church. (See also: Clippings - Churches)
First Congregational Church - 200th Anniversary program 1939
First Parish Church - "Articles of Faith" 1834, n.d.
First Parish Church - deed for a pew 1859
Grace Church - announcements, fliers, etc. 1872, 1939, 1941-1942, n.d.
Grace Church - correspondence 1937-1945
Grace Church - newsletters, etc. 1945
Grace Church - "Two Sermons" 1868
Grace Church - "A Study of the Church's Relationship to the Campuses in the Amherst Area," by Rev. James H. Clark 1970
Grace Church - weekly calendars 1936-1951
Hope Church (formerly Zion Chapel) - correspondence 1895-1912
North Congregational Church - 50th Anniversary address 1876
North Congregational Church - The Story of a New England Country Church, by Alice M. Walker 1901
Second Congregational Church - manual 1924
Series 10: BUILDINGS, 1917-1938
Series 10, BUILDINGS (1917-1938), contains materials are arranged alphabetically by name of building or establishment. This series also includes Amherst Street Lists from 1937 and 1938. (Note: For more information on local business buildings, See BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. For school buildings and churches, See SCHOOLS or CHURCHES.) (See also: Clippings - Buildings)
Dana House - photographic image 1917
Dickinson-Baggs Tavern - article 1928
Street List 1937
Street List 1938
Series 11: PERSONS, 1844-1956
Series 11, PERSONS (1844-1956), includes personal papers and other information relating to individuals in Amherst. This series is arranged alphabetically by name. (See also: Clippings - Persons)
Baker, Osmyn - letter 1844
Clark, William S. - "His work lives in trees" - article in Horticulture, pp. 168-171. 1956
Dickinson, W.A. and John - correspondence 1844-1889
Series 12: POPULATION - STATISTICS, 1956
Series 12, POPULATION - STATISTICS (1956), consists of a town report, showing the growth of the Amherst population between the years 1765 and 1950. (See also: Clippings - Population)
Statistics - population growth (1765-1950) 1956
Series 13: GEOLOGY, n.d.
Series 13, GEOLOGY (n.d.), is an anonymous written history of the geology of the area.
"Geology of Amherst" - pamphlet n.d.
Series 14: TREES, 1892
Series 14, TREES (1892), is a single booklet on notable trees in Amherst. (See also: Clippings - Trees, Persons - Clark, William S.)
Amherst trees, by James Ellis Humphrey 1892
Series 15: HURRICANE OF 1938 1938
Series 15, HURRICANE OF 1938, contains a report on the hurricane of 1938 (published by the Western Massachusetts [utilities] Companies) and a pictorial history of damage caused by the hurricane. (See also: Newspapers - Amherst Record Sept. 28, 1938)
Flood-Hurricane: September 1938, published by Western Massachusetts Companies - booklet 1938
In the wake of the hurricane: 1938, Amherst, Ma. - photographic images 1938
"Amherst Newspapers" - list n.d.
Series 16: NEWSPAPERS, 1845-1972
Series 16, NEWSPAPERS (1845-1972), contains souvenir editions of the Amherst Journal Record from the Bicentennial year (1959) and other special editions of local papers. There is also a list of Amherst newspapers that have existed over the years. They are arranged alphabetically, then chronologically. (Note:All newspapers have been removed to Oversized Box O1)
Amherst Journal Record 6/29/51 - 1879 fire 1951
Amherst Journal Record 10/15/59 -Bicentennial celebration 1959
Amherst Journal Record 10/22/59 -10/29/59 - bicentennial souvenir editions 1959
Amherst Journal Record 4/11/63 - "special supplement for the House of Walsh" 1963
Amherst Journal Record 5/12/63 - Centennial celebration of the University of Massachusetts 1963
Amherst Record 3/2/27 - article on school buildings 1927
Amherst Record 9/28/38 - Hurricane 1938
Amherst Record 10/29/69 - 125th Anniversary edition, pt. 1 1969
Amherst Record 11/5/69 - 125th Anniversary edition, pt. 2 1969
Amherst Record 10/7/70 - opening of Hampshire College 1970
Amherst Record 5/14/1972 - "Town of Amherst Day" (150th Anniversary of Amherst College) 1973
Daily Hampshire Gazette - "Hampshire College edition" n.d.
Hampshire Franklin Express 4/18/1845 1845
Northampton Courier 8/5/1858 - "extra" (announcement about telegraph cable recently laid) 1858
Springfield Newspapers (Union, Republican, Daily News) 8/25/55 - "Special Flood edition" 1955
Springfield Republican 11/28/1873 1873
Series 17: CLIPPINGS, ca. 1903-1969
Series 17, CLIPPINGS (ca.1903-1969), is partially sorted by subject. The clippings are arranged under headings corresponding to the preceding series headings (e.g., clippings about the Bicentennial celebration are filed under CLIPPINGS - ANNIVERSARIES). Unsorted clippings relate mostly to Amherst's history and buildings.
General - maps 1967
Histories - unsorted
Anniversaries - Bicentennial 1959
Community Events - Community Chest Drive 1935-1939
Community Events - film, "Silent Night, Lonely Night" 1968-1969
Community Events - Old Home Week 1903
Community Events - Western Mass. Spring Music Festival 1939
Local Government - City Planning 1958
Local Government - City Planning - Amherst Water Committee 1937
Schools 1936, 1966-76
Schools - Mount Pleasant Classical Institute 1926-1927, 1951, 1965, 1967
Schools - University of Massachusetts 1940, 1963-67
Business Enterprises 1962,1964, 1966
Business Enterprises - Railroad 1944, 1951
Associations, Institutions, etc. - Amherst Community Concert Association 1941
Associations, Institutions, etc. - Amherst Historical Society - unsorted
Associations, Institutions, etc. -Amherst Historical Society Strong House 1916, 1950, 1967-
Associations, Institutions, etc. - The Boys' Club 1938
Associations, Institutions, etc. - Jones Library - unsorted
Associations, Institutions, etc. - Nature Club 1969
Churches - unsorted
Churches - Baptist Church
Churches - Dwight Chapel (Pelham)
Churches - Grace Church
Churches - Hope Church (Zion Chapel)
Churches - North Congregational
Churches - Second Congregational
Buildings - unsorted
Persons - unsorted
Population - statistics, minorities 1965
Trees 1955, 1957
Unsorted Clippings
Series 18: PHOTOGRAPHS
Series 18, PHOTOGRAPHS, contains a list of all of the photographs, which have been cross-referenced and removed to the Photographic Images Collection. (For other images of Amherst, see: General - Photographic Images)
List of photographs removed