Amherst Information

Your Characters and Amherst:

Keep in mind, your characters do not currently live in Amherst. Those of you with jobs have maybe taken a trip to interview there. Otherwise you are on your way to Amherst. The story will open with a train ride to Amherst. Just things to keep in mind.


These are some general facts you know about Amherst:

About Amherst
These are some common facts about the town you will be living in:

Founded: 1788
Current Population: 210,000
Primary Religions: Baptist (48%), Christian (25%), Protestant (25%), Other (2%)
Current Mayor: Fulton Segant
Police Force: 516
Police Commisioner: Harmon Kiels
Chief Justice: Calgary Belmont
District Attorney: Delroy Jackson
Hospitals: Heartman Hospital (Medical/Emergency), Deacon Psychiatric (Psych/Mental Sanitarium), Chauval Hospice, Delmire Government Clinic
Major Corporations: ViTAL Corp, Mudd Electronics, Copper & Silver Mining
Transportation Systems: Colston National Airport, Beckway Rail Station, Lowery Bus and Taxi
Military Bases: Fort Cloude, Designated Area D71

Information / Historical Data
Amherst was founded by a religious movement called the Church of the Coin in 1760, and was not incorporated until 1788 when the church was expelled for 'subversive actions' by Christian fundamentalists. The Church was listed as a cult, and all records pertaining to members and events were destroyed. Since then, Amherst, South Carolina has remained a quiet river town in the middle of nowhere.

The town was also the location of a small but bloody civil war skirmish. Much to the townsfolk's dismay, thier boys lost. 300 Union soldiers set up a fort (which is all but gone, save for parts of the foundation) and a graveyard. The graveyard still stands, with 52 recognizable names on its stones (which were added later in 1922 -- Some World War 1 dead were buried here as well at the time). The same names of the confederate soldiers appear at the foot of the town's central statue figure of General Lee and the lesser known Major Nathan Pride standing together saluting the confederate flag.

It is surmised that the statue had a hand in the town's fame and growth as no one had ever heard of Major Nathan Pride, a local miller's son from Amherst. This kept attracting civil war enthusiasts, historians and tourists. The place just seemed to pick up after being featured in a Cival War epic movie about Nathan Pride called "Grey Pride".

Nathan Pride A local boy, apparently he rose through the ranks rather quick as his commanders had quickly succumb to colera and legionaire's disease late in the war. He led a last desperate and dire bayonet charge against the union soldiers with his remaining ten men

Ten years ago, multiple corporations got together and focused resources towards rebuilding and reinventing this river valley into something spectacular. Surprisingly, it worked. The population in the area rose from barely 10,000 souls to 210,000 modernized and equipped. And still, the town is growing; more and more jobs keep opening up and it looks like Amherst will become the jewel of America in no time at all.

The town itself appears to have both modern touches, along with the two-hundred year old 'historical section' (which serves as both historical attraction for tourists and a slum, housing the small amount of crime). Indeed, Amherst doesn't see much crime. But from time to time, something bubbles up that seems almost heinous; three famous serial killers in the last decade have come from this town, gaining national recognition for the sheer volume of bodies they have produced. Yet, small crimes such as robberies and car theft seem to be very low in this town (crime rate is in the lowest 1% of the country).