Amherst Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Buffalo County · Population 201 (2020 census) · ZIP 68812 · Founded 1890 · Peak population 277 (2000)

About Amherst

Amherst is a village of 201 people (2020) in west-central Buffalo County, at 2,234 feet on NE 40 about 14 miles northwest of Kearney. Amherst Public Schools teaches preschool through grade 12 in one building. Amherst is on Central Time.

History

Settlers in the Wood River valley had a school and post office at Huntsville about 1872; the post office later moved a mile or two west and became Stanley. When the Kearney & Black Hills branch of the Union Pacific was built in 1890 and missed Stanley, its people moved to the new town of Amherst. John N. Hamilton, the branch’s first president, suggested the name, for Amherst College in Massachusetts. Amherst was incorporated in 1894. Its population peaked at 277 in 2000.

Highways and trails through Amherst

Route	One way	Other way
NE 40Through the village	Northwest to Miller	Southeast to Riverdale and Kearney

Nearby towns

Riverdale	about 7 mi east-southeast	NE 40
Miller	about 9 mi northwest	NE 40
Elm Creek	about 10 mi south-southwest	County roads
Sartoria	about 10 mi north-northeast	County roads
Glenwood	about 11 mi east-southeast	NE 40
Pleasanton	about 13 mi northeast	County roads
Kearney	about 14 mi southeast	NE 40
Sumner	about 15 mi west-northwest	NE 40

Schools and health care

Schools: Amherst Public Schools, 100 N. Sycamore St., (308) 826-3131: Amherst Elementary (PreK–6) and Amherst High School (7–12)

Health care: Hospitals: CHI Health Good Samaritan and Kearney Regional Medical Center, Kearney, about 14 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Bassett, History of Buffalo County and Its People (1916); Who’s Who in Nebraska (1940); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); NEGenWeb Buffalo County; History Nebraska and its markers; National Register; Buffalo County; City of Kearney; Visit Kearney; Nebraska Game and Parks; Central Platte NRD; Audubon Rowe Sanctuary; Kearney Regional Airport; school districts. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.