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History · Amherst

Amherst’s post office opened in 1833, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1840.

1833first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Amherst began

When was Amherst founded?

1833

The Amherst post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 196 in 18402020 census: 248193 years
Founding year: the first Amherst post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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.Boom and bustPeaked at 400 in 1880; 248 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Amherst.
★ What stands out · Help out

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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Amherst, census by census

01002003004001850190019502000Peak: 400

Peaked at 400 in 1880; 248 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Amherst’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Amherst, 1833 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Amherst post office opens
  3. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 400
  4. 20th century
  5. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1967Post officeThe Amherst post office closes
The story so far

Amherst, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Amherst yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Amherst is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 248 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 265 to 248 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Amherst, decade by decade

Today6 recent
December Sunset in Maine image 132014December Sunset in Maine image 13December Sunset in Maine image 122014December Sunset in Maine image 12December Sunset in Maine image 112014December Sunset in Maine image 11December Sunset in Maine image 102014December Sunset in Maine image 10Amherst, Maine2012Amherst, MaineAmherst ME2012Amherst ME
On the map

Amherst on the map, 1932 to 1988

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Amherst. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Amherst on the 1932 USGS mapAmherst on the 1957 USGS mapAmherst on the 1988 USGS map1932Great Pond sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Amherst

Nobody well known was born in Amherst itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William CohenAmerican politician · b. 1940
Joe HillAmerican horror writer · b. 1972
Joshua Lawrence ChamberlainAmerican military officer, professor, and 32nd … · b. 1828
John BaldacciAmerican politician · b. 1955
Charles RocketAmerican actor, comedian · b. 1949
T
Tabitha KingAmerican writer · b. 1949
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Amherst had its own post office from 1833 to 1967.

Amherst
1833–1967
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Archers Corners
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Amherst
AmherstHadley

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Aurora1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBradleyIts storyBMariavilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Amherst’s history

What year was Amherst founded?

The Amherst post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.