Editing Amherst, New York (section)

==History==
Amherst was created by the State of New York on April 10, 1818, from part of the town of Buffalo (later the city of Buffalo), which itself had previously been created from the town of [[Clarence, New York|Clarence]]. Amherst was named after [[Lord Jeffrey Amherst]], commander-in-chief of the British army in North America from 1758 to 1763. Timothy S. Hopkins was elected the first supervisor of the town in 1819. Part of Amherst was later separated to form the town of [[Cheektowaga, New York|Cheektowaga]] on March 22, 1839.<ref>{{Cite web| title = A brief history of the Town of Amherst| url = http://www.amherst.ny.us/pdf/it/brief_history.pdf| website = Town of Amherst| access-date = May 15, 2015| date = 1997| last = Amherst Museum| author-link = Amherst Museum}}</ref>

The opening of the [[Erie Canal]] in 1825 spurred Amherst's growth, bringing with it with new settlers and increased commerce. German immigrants settled in the northern part of the town as farmers, attracted by the fertile land in the area. The town's water resources encouraged the development of grist mills, saw mills, and other factories along [[Ellicott Creek]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nyheritage.org/collections/history-town-amherst-new-york-1818-1965|title="History of the town of Amherst" (1818 - 1965)}}</ref> Several communities and hamlets started to develop around this time, such as [[Williamsville, New York|Williamsville]] (1810s), [[Eggertsville, New York|Eggertsville]] and [[Snyder, New York|Snyder]] (1830s), [[East Amherst, New York|East Amherst]] and [[Swormville, New York|Swormville]] (1850s), and [[Getzville, New York|Getzville]] (1860s).