Lewiston inter-state news. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1905-1906, 1905-11-07
BEAUTIFUL AMHERST
A NEW ENGLAND TOWN AND ITS I'M.
PROvEMeNT SOCIETY.

A NEW ENGLAND TOWN AND ITS I'M
PROvEMENT SOCIETY.
For Half = Century the Association
Has Lahored For Town Betterment.
How Money IL Raised to Carry ON
the Work.
The town Of Amherst, in Hampshire
county, Mass, might well claim to be
the most beautiful hill town in New
England, writes A. w. Atwood In the
Outlook. Whether or not such bold
assertion can be proved, 1t is certain
that whoever makes it has threefold
argument to rest his claim upon. A
situation and surroundings Of rare
charm are the first counts in the list
Of Amherst's attractions. But to these
must be added the results Of the con-
sistent work done by the Village I'm
provement association for half CEN
fury and the location in the village Of
q college whose broad campus would in
itself make any village famous for its
beauty. Because Of the towns natural
advantages and the beautifying which
the college has done on its own account
the activity Of the local association has
not Of necessity been 80 varied In Am
herst a. elsewhere. Yet the society
has accomplished much because it has
happily confined its efforts to supple
menting what nature had already done
and whatever the college might do.
In 1888 the roads were al narrowed
to their present ordinary width except
the highway through the middle Of the
village. which was left for a common.
As the common has always been IN
every sense the center Of the village,
the energies Of the Improvement asso-
citation have been devoted almost SOLE
ly to its betterment. At the commons
lower end is the railroad station, where
the visitor gets his first glimpse Of
Amherst; at its upper end are clois-
tered. the few business blocks of the
village, while the college buildings face
the center Of the green, and the resi-
dence streets radiate from its borders.
In 1853 the Massachusetts, general
cites Ito encourage agriculture, horti-
culture or the improvement and orna-
mentation Of the streets and public
squares Of any town by planting and
cultivating ornamental trees therein"
Four years later the Amherst Orna-
mental Tree association was formed
with the object expressed in the act Of
1853 The town soon gave over the
control Of the common to the associa-
ton, whose chief work for half CEN
fury since has been to improve and
care for the forty odd acres intrusted
to 1t. The associations most success
full and comprehensive work was done
in 1879, when plans drawn by the late
Frederick Law Olmsted for improving
the common were carried into effect.
In 1877 the society dropped its quaint
and restricted title Of Ornamental
Tree association and became the
"Village Improvement association"
Today the society has about $50
members, both men and women. who
pay dues Of a dollar year. The sum
of $50 raised in this way is sufficient
to keep the common In good condition.
The value of the work done 10y the
Improvement association has not by
any means been confined to it's care of
the village common. Even in New
England towns the spirit Of material
ism and commercialism is sometimes
rife. and this spirit the society has con-
stantly fought, in doing which it has
exerted an educative influence not only
upon the immediate community. but
also upon the group of hamlets of
which Amherst Is the center.
When money was arst spent to I'M
prove the common 1t was raised by .
general tax upon all the villages com.
prising the town Of Amherst. This
objected to by the outlying villages
that the association had to raise funds
for the extensive improvements Of 1875
by private subscriptions. But when
the work was completed the taxpayers
of North Amherst. Amherst City. East
and South Amherst came to realize its
value and have since organized local
societies to care for the small COM
mons and squares In their respective
villages.
The people Of Amherst have indeed
been fortunate In having q man such
as Frederick Law Olmsted to plan for
them. but they are still more fortunate
In possessing a keen appreciation OF
the practical as well as the aesthetic
value OF the village beautiful.