Northampton, Amherst & the Five Colleges

I-91 / MA-9 / MA-116 / US-5

Hampshire County is the academic heart of the Pioneer Valley, anchored by the 'Five Colleges' consortium — the University of Massachusetts Amherst (the flagship public university in Massachusetts with ~32,000 students), Amherst College (founded 1821, one of the original 'Little Three' with Williams and Wesleyan), Smith College (one of the original Seven Sisters, in Northampton), Mount Holyoke College (the oldest of the Seven Sisters, founded 1837 in South Hadley), and Hampshire College (an experimental liberal arts college founded 1970). The region spans Northampton (the Hampshire County seat with its thriving downtown arts scene), Amherst, South Hadley, Hadley, Easthampton, Granby, Belchertown, Hatfield, Williamsburg, and the surrounding Hampshire County towns.