1857 Massachusetts Governor Joel Hayden of Haydenville gives the College Sabrina, a statue of a wood nymph. For years, the statue is the subject of class rivalries in which one class would steal and hide the statue from another. In July in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Amherst and Williams play the first intercollegiate baseball game . Barrett Gymnasium is constructed, housing the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education. The department was established in 1858 in an attempt to combat student ill health, making Amherst the first college to introduce physical education and hygiene into the curriculum.
College adopts school colors of mauve and white, later changed to purple and white.
1868 Walker Hall cornerstone laid June 10. The building was completed in 1870. The Amherst Student publishes its first issue on February 1. Amherst celebrates its semicentennial. Some members of the Board of Trustees are in favor and suggest a merger with Smith College.