Amherst History

Amherst, NH was first chartered in 1728 as Narragansett No. 3 and later called Souhegan No. 3. In January, 1760 it was chartered as Amherst and named for General Jeffrey Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America at the time. Eighteenth century Amherst was much larger than the present town. By 1803, portions of Amherst had become the neighboring towns of Milford, Merrimack, and Mont Vernon.

Amherst became the first seat of Hillsborough County when the county was formed in 1769. The central village contained the courthouse, complete with jail, pillory and whipping post. By 1869, all county government had moved to either Manchester or Nashua. The courthouse became the Town Hall and the jail was eventually removed.

Horace "Go West, young man" Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune and Republican and candidate for president in 1872, was born in Amherst in 1811. His house still stands on Horace Greeley Road.