About 401 Main Street

The offices of Blackboard Technology Group were located in a comfortable Victorian house at 401 Main Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. This house was originally located at 109 Main Street and was once the home of American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) and his family while he was teaching at Amherst College. Stories of the poet during the time he stayed at the house include:

Robert Frost had a seminar group assigned to him on the top floor of Walker Hall [Amherst College] at 8:00 A.M. After about 2 weeks he invited the class to meet in the evening at 6:30 in his living room at 109 [Main Street]. He informed them that he never took attendance and if they did come they could leave when they wished. According to one of these students, the group never missed a session and stayed long after the required class hours.

Robert Frost lived in several homes during his Amherst stays. The 109 Main Street house was among the earliest. The Frost House (43 Sunset Avenue) was his longest Amherst residence, but was sold in 1938 after his wife, Elenor, died there following a severe heart attack.

A Moving History

Built in 1896, the house was scheduled for demolition in 1989 in order to make room for the new police station for the Town of Amherst.

The house was purchased by Architect Bill Gillen of Amherst and, in March 1989, the 290-ton house was moved four blocks to its 401 Main Street location in Amherst's Emily Dickinson Historical District. An extension was added to increase its size and, in November 1989, the renovated house was ready for occupancy by Blackboard Technology.

The Neighborhood

Today, the Main Street area retains much of its historic character (walking tour of the area). Other historic houses include the Emily Dickinson Homestead, the Todd House (home of David Peck Todd who supervised the establishment of the Amherst College Observatory and was known for his attempts to communicate with Martians by going aloft in a balloon), The Dell (home of Howard Garis, author of the first 37 Tom Swift books under the name Victor Appleton), and the site of Noah Webster's house.

401 Main Street is also located within a few hundred yards of the Amherst Railroad Station which is served by Amtrak's Vermonter which runs from Union Station in Washington, D.C., through Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City, to Montreal Canada. The Allen House Inn, a highly praised bed & breakfast facility, is located nearby at 599 Main Street. The Lord Jeffery Inn is also nearby, on the Amherst Common.

Amherst and the Pioneer Valley

Amherst (population 36,000 plus students) is located in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.

Amherst is the home of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, and Hampshire College. Nearby Smith College in Northampton and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley round out the Five Colleges consortium.