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A−History
History · Amherst

Amherst dates to 1807, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 36 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1890.

1807founded
7on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Amherst began

When was Amherst founded?

1807

Amherst dates its founding to 1807 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 590 in 18902020 census: 2,110219 years

How historic is Amherst?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Amherst’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Amherst is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Amherst’s overall grade.
Founding era1807, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±8.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register7 listings, 43 historic buildings, 231 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Amherst’s 231 sits above most of its state (80% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 points). Two sources give 1807.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

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.A historic districtThe Sweet Briar College Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1807: 219 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
On the National Register

7 listings protect 43 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Sweet Briar College Historic District
Sweet Briar College Historic District, built 1901Edgewood, built 1818Dulwich ManorKenmore Farm, built 1856Thompson's Mill-Amherst Mill ComplexAmherst Baptist ChurchDameron Cottage
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Sweet Briar College Historic DistrictColonial Revival · Built 1901
EdgewoodFederal · Built 1818
Dulwich ManorBuilding
Kenmore FarmBuilt 1856
All 7 listings
Thompson's Mill-Amherst Mill ComplexDistrict · listed 2019Amherst Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2021Dameron CottageBuilding · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Amherst came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amherst.

Read it all →

Amherst was founded in 1807. Originally known as "The Oaks" and "Seven Oaks", it began as a stagecoach station on the Charlottesville to Lynchburg road. Once Nelson County was separated from Amherst County in 1807, the community became the seat of Amherst County. It was at this time that the village decided to rename itself in honor of French and Indian War hero Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. Major-General Amherst had been the hero of the Battle of Ticonderoga and later served as the governor of the Colony of Virginia from 1763 to 1768.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amherst, 1803 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1803Post officeThe Amherst Courthouse post office opens
  3. 1807
    FoundingAmherst is established
  4. 1818BuiltEdgewood is built
  5. 1856BuiltKenmore Farm is built
  6. 1889Born hereBlack Herman is born here
  7. 1893Post officeThe Amherst Courthouse post office closes
  8. 1893Post officeThe Amherst post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1901BuiltSweet Briar College Historic District is built
  11. 1921Born hereMitchell Higginbotham is born here
  12. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1944Born hereJimmy Walker is born here
  14. 1945Born hereLewis Franklin Payne, Jr. is born here
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Amherst on the map, 1939 to 1970

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 1939 USGS mapAmherst on the 1950 USGS mapAmherst on the 1963 USGS mapAmherst on the 1970 USGS map1939Amherst 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.

People over time

Amherst, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,251

Between 559 and 2,251 people in every census since 1890.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Amherst

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jimmy WalkerAmerican basketball player · b. 1944
Lewis Franklin Payne, Jr.American politician · b. 1945
M
Mitchell HigginbothamMember of the Tuskegee Airmen · b. 1921
Black HermanAmerican stage actor · b. 1889
C
Cornelius Clarkson WattsAmerican politician · b. 1848
P
Peyton EvansAmerican football coach · b. 1892
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Amherst’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Amherst Courthouse, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Amherst Courthouse
1803–1893
Amherst
1893–today
18001910today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Amherst
AmherstChristian Aid

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

Questions about Amherst’s history

What year was Amherst founded?

In 1807, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amherst’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1890 counted 590 people here.

How does Amherst rank for history?

Amherst is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Amherst?

7 listings: 4 buildings and 3 historic districts, the Sweet Briar College Historic District, the Kenmore Farm and the Thompson's Mill-Amherst Mill Complex, with 36 contributing buildings. 43 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Amherst?

10% of Amherst’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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).

From the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.