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History · Amherst

Amherst dates to 1887, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on.

1887founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Amherst began

When was Amherst founded?

1887

Amherst dates its founding to 1887 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1888.

2020 census: 47139 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Amherst’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Amherst are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Amherst’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Amherst’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Amherst came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amherst.

Read it all →

The town of Amherst was established about 1887. The community was named after Amherst, Massachusetts, the native home of a local businessman.

The Amherst Post Office opened on February 18, 1888. Currently, it's ZIP Code is 80721.

Phillips County was founded in 1889, and before that, Amherst was in Weld County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amherst, 1887 to 1962

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingAmherst is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Amherst post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Amherst on the map in 1962

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Amherst.

Amherst on the 1962 USGS map1962Amherst sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Amherst.

Questions about Amherst’s history

What year was Amherst founded?

In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amherst’s post office opened in 1888.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.