Major-General Amherst had been the hero of the Battle of Ticonderoga and later served as the governor of the Colony of Virginia from 1763 to 1768.

[7] In 1847, local planter William Waller, aged 58, walked from Amherst to Louisiana with about 20 slaves for sale.

His letters home during the trip, held by the Virginia Historical Society, provide rare documentation of a slave coffle.

The official town seal was created by Ward Cruea, a commercial artist from Dayton, Ohio.

His original proposal featured the "sleeping giant" (the Blue Ridge Mountain ridgeline west of Amherst), but this was rejected as it represented an area outside the town's limits.

During that era, a large letter "A" was attached to a radio antenna tower beside the telephone company building adjacent to the courthouse.

Approximately six months later Cruea returned to the town and delivered a framed original of a proposed seal.

[15] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km2), all of it land.

Amherst has many public schools which provide primary and secondary education to local children.

Major employers in and near the town include the Ambriar and Mountainview Shopping Centers, Clorox, HVAC machinery manufacturer Buffalo Air, Sweet Briar College, clock manufacturer Hermle, and Greif paper mill.

Commercial passenger service is available at Lynchburg Regional, and Falwell Aviation has facilities for the landing of small private jet aircraft.

Other air services are available nearby in Charlottesville, Roanoke, Richmond and Washington, D.C., and Durham, North Carolina.

[17] Norfolk Southern's north-south mainline between Washington, D.C., and Birmingham, Alabama, passes through Amherst.

Passenger service to Amherst was discontinued some years ago, but the Amtrak Crescent, using the NS mainline, passes through the town on its daily trip between Washington, D.C., and New Orleans and may be boarded at Lynchburg and Charlottesville.

[17] Amherst is served by several interstate and intrastate motor freight companies located throughout Central Virginia.

These freight companies provide extensive coverage throughout the eastern United States and many areas of the Midwest and Canada.

These attractions provide beautiful natural entertainment and are good places for fishing, hiking, picnics, and other outdoor pleasures.