Amherst Town

Amherst Town Hall is located at 2 Main Street, Amherst, NH 03031; phone: 603-673-6041.

Beginnings [1]

Amherst was first granted as Narragansett Number 3, December 18, 1728, by Massachusetts, to the heirs of those who had served in the Naragansset War of 1675. Afterwards it was called Souhegan West. The first settlers were Samuel Walton and Samuel Lamson, in 1734. The first settlers came from the old towns of Massachusetts. Among them were Reverend Daniel Wilkins, the first minister, ordained in 1736. Amherst is the birthplace of Horace Greeley. It was once the most important town in Hillsborough County, later overshadowed by Manchester and Nashua. It was incorporated January 18, 1760. A portion of the town was combined with a part of Hollis to make up the town of Milford in 1794. Mount Vernon was set off in 1803.

1. Everett S. Stackpole, History of New Hampshire, Volume I, American Historical Society, New York, 1916.