The purposes of this study are to analyze the growth of a New England village and prepare guidelines to direct its future development. Cushman, a village in Amherst, Massachusetts, was selected as the study area for several reasons. First, there was no existing comprehensive study of Cushman, and the village is of a manageable scale to accomplish the study objectives. A second reason was the location of the village in a region with a history of over three hundred years of settlement—an excellent area to study the development of settlement patterns and landscapes. A third reason was the variety of design and planning recommendations required at several sites within the study area. Two objectives influenced the format of this study. My major interest was identifying the economic, cultural, and natural factors that most influenced the settlement of communities and the character of landscapes. These factors create the particular spirit of a place—a quality that should be understood before proposing future landscape changes. The second objective was to relate the topographic and vegetative forms to the visual character of a landscape. Topography and plant materials are often the predominant features in landscapes, much like buildings and streets are in most townscapes. Examining the landscape may be compared to reading a novel. There are two levels of interpretation: physical elements can be measured and recorded, just as one notes characters and places in a story; or, these physical elements can be examined with insight to identify the forces that created and continue to transform the landscape, similar to understanding the underlying theme and supporting plots of a novel. The word “landscape” evokes a multitude of images, each as diverse as the individuals who view or use the land. To a farmer, the landscape may represent potential cropland; to a real estate agent, a speculative investment; to a painter, a multidimensional subject; to a historian, a record of past events. Perhaps John Conron’s definition in The American Landscape best summarizes the diverse and broad nature of the landscape: “an old and still necessary way of arranging and expressing what we see and imagine.” Illustrations are an important part of this study, as the landscape is experienced by most individuals as a visual phenomenon. Where possible, maps, views, and schematic plans have been incorporated, with descriptive captions, to better convey the character and evolving nature of the landscape. I hope this study provides the residents of Cushman and the town of Amherst with, first, a better understanding of their daily environment, and second, a useful format to guide future landscape change.