For a peek at Amherst's colorful past, make your way to the West Cemetery, between Triangle St and N Pleasant St. Here you'll find the graves of Amherst's notables, including Emily Dickinson. To spot her stone, follow the main paved path to the southern end of the cemetery; the Dickinson family plot borders the left side of the path.
For 11 years, the ghosts of Amherst watched over the cemetery from a brilliant mural, painted on a neighboring building by David Fichter. The mural depicted the history of Amherst, focusing mostly on the folks buried here, featuring everyone from local farmer Howard Atkins to famed poet Robert Frost, a professor at Amherst College, and, of course, Emily Dickinson herself. The mural was lost when the original building was demolished in 2016, but all parties (developer, artist, historical commission) have agreed that the mural will be re-created on the new building, which now stands in its place. At the time of research, painting of the new mural was scheduled for 2019.
