Editing Amherst, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
[[Image:Post Office Square, Amherst Plains, NH.jpg|thumb|left|100px|A photograph of Amherst taken in 1910]]

Like many towns in [[New England]], Amherst was founded via a [[land grant]] issued to members of the [[Militia (United States)|colonial militia]]; the land grant which led to the town's foundation was issued in 1728 to veterans of [[King Philip's War]]. A colonial settlement was established at the land grant's location five years later in 1733, being initially named "Narragansett Number 3" and later "Souhegan Number 3". In 1741, the settlement's inhabitants established a [[Congregational church]] and hired a minister to preach in the settlement. On January 18, 1760, the settlement was chartered by the [[List of colonial governors of New Hampshire|governor of New Hampshire]] [[Benning Wentworth]], who renamed it after General [[Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|Jeffery Amherst]], who served as [[Commander-in-Chief, North America]] during the [[French and Indian War]].<ref>[http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/Haywards/frame028.html ''Hayward's New England Gazetteer'' (1839)]</ref><ref name=gazeteer>[http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/054.html Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire (1875)]</ref> Wentworth chartered Amherst as part of a wave of land grants he issued during the mid-18th century.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Charles|last=Clark|title=The Eastern Frontier: The Settlement of Northern New England, 1610-1763|date=2013|orig-year=1970|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|asin=B00CGI3HDQ}}</ref>

In 1770, Amherst became the [[county seat]] of Hillsborough County, due largely to its location on the county's major east-west road. It continued to prosper through the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] and afterwards. In 1790, the southwestern section broke off and became the town of [[Milford, New Hampshire|Milford]], and in 1803, the northwest section departed to become [[Mont Vernon, New Hampshire|Mont Vernon]]. The development of [[hydropower|water-powered]] mills allowed Milford to grow at Amherst's expense, and the county seat was moved to Milford in 1866.

The town population remained relatively stagnant until after World War II, when Amherst and many surrounding towns saw an influx of newcomers as the town became part of the [[Greater Boston]] region.

[[Franklin Pierce]], who later become the 14th President of the United States studied under Judge Edmund Parker in Amherst. He wed [[Jane Means Appleton]], the daughter of a former president of [[Bowdoin College]], in a house on the town green.

The Nashua and Wilton Railroad passed through Amherst.<ref name=gazeteer/>