Amherst County, Virginia
Amherst County is located in the Piedmont region, near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area, and its county seat is also named Amherst.
Amherst County was created in 1761 out of Albemarle County, and named in honor of Lord Jeffery Amherst. In 1807 as population increased, the county was reduced in size in order to form Nelson County. Tobacco was the major cash crop of the county during its early years. Before the American Civil War, this labor-intensive crop was cultivated and processed by African slaves.
As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 31,307.