Springfield (Massachusetts)

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Springfield is an industrial city on the Connecticut River in the southwest of Massachusetts. It was first settled by the Puritans under William Pynchon in 1636 and it was one of the scenes in Shays's Rebellion (1786-1787), as well as a station on the Underground Railroad, a loosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. The system was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks. The metaphor first appeared in print in the early 1840's and other railroad terminology was soon added. The escaping slaves were called passengers, the homes where they were sheltered, stations and those who guided them, conductors.

The U.S. Armory operated in Springfield from 1794 to 1966 and was famous for the development of the Springfield and the Garand army rifles. The armory was situated there for Springfield's central location. The city now contains an arms museum and it is a national historic site. Springfield is also home to the first American-made projection planetarium, which was designed and built by Frank Korkosz for the city's science museum in 1937. The museum also contains an aquarium and a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex. Also in the city is Forest Park, which has a zoo and several additional museums.

Springfield is an important port of entry to the United States and home to significant printing and publishing industries. Among its many manufactures are chemicals, plastics, machinery, electrical equipment, paper and metallurgical goods, as well as clothing. The city is the seat of Springfield College (with a basketball hall of fame tracing the game's development since its invention there in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith), American International College, Western New England College and a technical college. Saint-Gaudens's Puritan is in Merrick Park.

There are several nice museums in Springfield. The Museum of Fine Arts features a large Impressionist collection; the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum has a collection of Asian curiosities; the aforementioned Springfield Science Museum; the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum and the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum, which focuses on Springfield's history. The city's neighborhood of Indian Orchard features the Titanic Museum, where you can see artifacts that tell the ship's story.

There is a wide variety Accommodation and restaurants are available in town. Springfield is 500 km northeast of Washington D.C. and 40 km north of Hartford, the capital of Connecticut.