Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in <a href="/facts/Hampden_County%2c_Massachusetts/KMEaoKnK">Hampden County, Massachusetts</a>, United States, and its <a href="/facts/County_seat/ItAWPoWw">county seat</a>. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the <a href="/facts/Connecticut_River/yhnubDoq">Connecticut River</a> near its confluence with three rivers: the western <a href="/facts/Westfield_River/P2rcGT3F">Westfield River</a>, the eastern <a href="/facts/Chicopee_River/C0Q6FJjp">Chicopee River</a>, and the eastern <a href="/facts/Mill_River_(Springfield%2c_Massachusetts)/0CSsDfBq">Mill River</a>. At the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a>, the city's population was 155,929, making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_municipalities_in_Massachusetts/CS4avIyN">third most populous city</a> in the <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">U.S. state</a> of <a href="/facts/Massachusetts/9uumCbFI">Massachusetts</a> and the fourth most populous city in <a href="/facts/New_England/ufw2BmSl">New England</a> after <a href="/facts/Boston/exjfn6xf">Boston</a>, <a href="/facts/Worcester%2c_Massachusetts/LqhMK07t">Worcester</a>, and <a href="/facts/Providence%2c_Rhode_Island/77kh9zJT">Providence</a>. <a href="/facts/Springfield_metropolitan_area%2c_Massachusetts/MYsaEKkL">Metropolitan Springfield</a>, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts (the other being <a href="/facts/Greater_Boston/cF49dxCK">Greater Boston</a>), had a population of 699,162 in 2020.
Springfield was founded in 1636, the first <a href="/facts/Springfield_(toponym)/tTpuH2AT">Springfield</a> in the New World. In the late 1700s, during the <a href="/facts/American_Revolution/zy1F0LxK">American Revolution</a>, Springfield was designated by <a href="/facts/George_Washington/ucb7mE4Q">George Washington</a> as the site of the <a href="/facts/Springfield_Armory/wk5kUfCX">Springfield Armory</a> because of its central location. Subsequently it was the site of <a href="/facts/Shays%2527_Rebellion/PYCe7cru">Shays' Rebellion</a>. The city would also play a pivotal role in the <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">Civil War</a>, as a stop on the <a href="/facts/Underground_Railroad/vv1XNdNC">Underground Railroad</a> and home of abolitionist <a href="/facts/John_Brown_(abolitionist)/PUgsXLmn">John Brown</a>, widely known for his <a href="/facts/John_Brown%2527s_raid_on_Harpers_Ferry/WaUkx0CX">raid on Harpers Ferry</a>, and for the Armory's manufacture of the famed "<a href="/facts/Springfield_rifle/PPFaEyAS">Springfield rifles</a>" used ubiquitously by Union troops. Closing during the <a href="/facts/Lyndon_B._Johnson/PKNthHX1">Lyndon B. Johnson</a> administration, today the <a href="/facts/National_Park_Service/KyR15FW6">national park</a> site features the largest collection of historic American firearms in the world.
Today the city is the largest in western <a href="/facts/New_England/ufw2BmSl">New England</a>, and the urban, economic, and media capital of Massachusetts' section of the <a href="/facts/Connecticut_River_Valley/yhnubDoq">Connecticut River Valley</a>, colloquially known as the <a href="/facts/Pioneer_Valley/elqIxsUg">Pioneer Valley</a>.
Springfield has several nicknames—"The City of Firsts", due to the <a href="/facts/History_of_Springfield%2c_Massachusetts/qkAU6zF4">many innovations developed there</a>, such as the <a href="/facts/Merriam-Webster/yEt22M9H">first American dictionary</a>, the <a href="/facts/Duryea_Motor_Wagon_Company/NceQWxfC">first American gas-powered automobile</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Thomas_Blanchard_(inventor)/hUp15gq1">first machining lathe for interchangeable parts</a>; "The City of Homes", due to its Victorian residential architecture; and "Hoop City", as <a href="/facts/Basketball/M5pl4Pzo">basketball</a> was invented in Springfield in 1891 by Canadian <a href="/facts/James_Naismith/61IpuIq1">James Naismith</a>.
<a href="/facts/Hartford%2c_Connecticut/F3D8LKMK">Hartford</a>, the capital of <a href="/facts/Connecticut/LeDhYdJG">Connecticut</a>, lies 24 miles (39 km) south of Springfield, on the western bank of the Connecticut River. The Hartford–Springfield region is known as the <a href="/facts/Knowledge_Corridor/sqjoCMPU">Knowledge Corridor</a> because it hosts over 160,000 university students and over 32 universities and <a href="/facts/Liberal_arts_colleges/qVahUPrA">liberal arts colleges</a>—the second-highest concentration of higher-learning institutions in the United States. The city of Springfield itself is home to <a href="/facts/Springfield_College/ACmltPet">Springfield College</a>, <a href="/facts/Western_New_England_University/JYmMU6pF">Western New England University</a>, <a href="/facts/American_International_College/1LNxc4D7">American International College</a>, and <a href="/facts/Springfield_Technical_Community_College/vWWh44VP">Springfield Technical Community College</a>, among other higher educational institutions.

Springfield, Massachusetts open-in-new

Springfield, Massachusetts