A Small Town for Big Dreamers

Amherst has been home to tons of visionary creatives, scientists, writers, and more! Here are some of Amherst’s best:

Emily Dickinson. The legendary poet! She went to college right down the road at Mount Holyoke, but lived in Amherst! You can visit her house, which is now a museum. 

Robert Frost. An American poet, he taught at Amherst College, and settled in the area. 

Holly Black.  Co-author of the hit series “The Spiderwick Chronicles.”

Norton Juster. Best known for the amazing wordplay in his book “The Phantom Tollbooth.”

Joey Santiago. Guitarist for the legendary rockers, Pixies.

And a couple more! Noah Webster, creator of Webster’s dictionary; J Mascis, from Dinosaur Jr.; and Uma Therman!

And on top of that, Amherst is home to some incredible attractions.

The Beneski Museum of Natural History has an incredible dinosaur skeleton display, the Yiddish Book Center is the world’s largest collection of Yiddish-language books, Amherst Cinema has dedicated art film programing, the Eric Carle museum is packed with original Carle art and other illustrations, and the UMass Amherst W. E. B. DuBois library is the tallest academic library in the USA! 

We can’t wait for you to make Amherst your home. And when you do, we’ll be the first ones to wish you a warm WELCOME!