Springfield, Massachusetts

History

Springfield was founded in 1636 by William Pynchon, the then assistant treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town was named after the city in England where he was born.

Related Topics:
1636 - William Pynchon - Massachusetts Bay Colony

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It was a small working town when in 1675, during King Philip's War, its security was threatened. The leader of the Wampanoag Indian tribe, Wamsutta, died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Soon thereafter, the war began. Wamsutta's brother and successor, Metacom, known as Philip to the colonists, started war with the colony to avenge his brother's death -- the tribe attacked Springfield and destroyed more than half the town.

Related Topics:
1675 - King Philip's War - Wampanoag

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During the 1770s, George Washington selected Springfield as the site of the National Armory. By the 1780s the Arsenal was a major ammunition and weapons depot. In 1787 poor farmers from western Massachusetts, led by Daniel Shays, tried to seize the arms at Springfield. This came to be known as Shays' Rebellion, and was a key event leading to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Those involved in the rebellion planned to use the weapons to force the closure of the Commonwealth and county courts, which were seizing their lands for debt.

Related Topics:
1770s - George Washington - National Armory - 1780s - 1787 - Daniel Shays - Shays' Rebellion - Constitutional Convention

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The term Springfield Rifle may refer to any sort of arms produced by the Springfield Armory for the United States armed forces.

Related Topics:
Springfield Rifle - United States armed forces

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In 1852, Smith and Wesson, America's largest producer of handguns, was founded in Springfield -- it remains headquartered there.

Related Topics:
1852 - Smith and Wesson - Handguns

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In 1852, Massachusetts incorporated Springfield as a city.

Related Topics:
1852 - Massachusetts

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In 1893, two Springfielders named Charles and Frank Duryea built the first ever gasoline powered commercial car in Springfield. The Duryea Motor Wagon was put on the streets of Springfield on September 20 of that year. this part of the city was later taken as part of neighboring Chicopee, MA.

Related Topics:
1893 - Charles - Frank Duryea - Gasoline - Car - Duryea Motor Wagon - September 20

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Springfield is known as the City of Homes, a nickname given to it in the late 19th century due to its many Victorian mansions, as well as multitudes of single-family houses inhabited by workers.

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The city of Springfield is most commonly known as the birthplace of basketball. In 1891, James Naismith, a physical education teacher in Springfield, invented the sport at the Springfield YMCA, to fill the gap between the football and baseball seasons. (On February 17, 1986, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was opened on the banks of the Connecticut River. In 2002 a new facility for the Hall of Fame opened next to the existing site. Shaped like a basketball and illuminated at night, it has become an interesting addition to the cityscape.)

Related Topics:
Basketball - 1891 - James Naismith - YMCA - February 17 - 1986 - Basketball Hall of Fame - Connecticut River - 2002 - Cityscape

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In 1901, the Indian Manufacturing Company, America's first motorcycle brand, was founded by George M. Hendee and C. Oscar Hedstrom in Springfield -- two years before Harley Davidson Motor Company.

Related Topics:
1901 - Indian Manufacturing Company - Motorcycle - Harley Davidson Motor Company

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Springfield is the birthplace of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, and drug pioneer Timothy Leary, among an eclectic group of other notables that include most recently the National Basketball Associations, Travis Best, multi platinum recording artists, Staind and modern artists, Chad Beroth and Paul Boutin.

Related Topics:
Dr. Seuss - Timothy Leary - Travis Best - Staind - Chad Beroth and Paul Boutin

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In 1936, Springfield suffered its most devastating natural disaster. The Connecticut River flooded, reaching record heights, inundating the South End, and the North End, respectively. (Before the flood, houses--some of Springfield's finest--stood where I-91 now runs.) Damages were estimated at $200,000,000 in 1936 dollars. This flood occurred at the height of the Great Depression; Western Massachusetts and Springfield had already suffered greatly. The water damage was repaired after WPA money was made available to Springfield; however, large, riverfront portions of the North and South Ends no longer exist.

Related Topics:
1936 - Connecticut River - I-91 - Great Depression - Western Massachusetts - WPA

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For nearly six decades, Springfield has been slumping economically, due largely to a decline in manufacturing. Many major companies that maintained factories in the city closed their facilities, moving to the suburbs or out of New England all together. In 1968, the Springfield Armory was closed by the Pentagon. (In 2005, this exodus continued, with the closure of the Danaher Tool forge, maker of Craftsman tools.) Many Springfield residents moved to the suburbs to escape inner-city crime and urban decay. Because manufacturing had been a large part of Springfield's economy, it proved difficult to fill the void with a service-based economy, more so than in similar cities with more diversified economies. Local department stores, Forbes & Wallace and Steigers, shuttered in 1974 and 1994, respectively. Johnsons Bookstore closed a few years later, though this was due less to a decline in retail downtown than competition from chain bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble. A downtown revitalization project known as Baystate West, was completed in 1973, but over the years it too became empty. The construction contributed to Springfield's somewhat modern (1970s-era) skyline. The Eastfield Mall, built on Springfield's outskirts in 1969, proved more successful. However, it suffered a decline after the Holyoke Mall was opened in the 1980s. Over the past five years, the mall has rebounded; consequently, Springfield's largest retail area is now on Boston Road, on the northeastern edge of the city, rather than downtown, which is now home to many adult entertainment establishments.

Related Topics:
1968 - Springfield Armory - The Pentagon - 2005 - Craftsman - Crime - 1974 - 1994 - Barnes and Noble - 1973 - 1970s - 1969 - 1980s - Adult entertainment

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The Quadrangle, an extraordinary grouping of museums and sculpture gardens, remains a testament to the city's nineteenth-century grandeur.

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Control Board

In July of 2004, the Massachusetts General Court created, in response to the city's request for additional aid, a state-run Finance Control Board (FCB) to resolve the escalating financial crisis. The fiscal problems had already resulted in wage freezes, cuts in city services, fee increases, and layoffs. The FCB consisted of the mayor, Charles Ryan, city council president, and three appointees of Governor Mitt Romney under the overall direction of state Secretary of Finance and Administration Eric Kriss. The FCB legislation included a state loan of $52 million to be paid back with future city tax receipts. A grant for $20 million was included originally, but former House Speaker Thomas Finneran killed that section, fearing it would invite fiscal irresponsibility among other municipalities. Initial estimates placed the city's operating deficit at over $40 million annually.

Related Topics:
July - 2004 - Massachusetts General Court - Mitt Romney - Eric Kriss - Thomas Finneran

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The original FCB bill filed by Governor Romney included a suspension of Chapter 150E, the state law that defines the collective bargaining process for public employees (state employees are not covered by federal labor laws). According to the Romney administration, the financial crisis was largely the result of poor cost management by city officials, driven by annual labor increases that exceeded municipal revenue growth over many years. However, according to Mayor Ryan, the city's deficits resulted from cuts in state aid during the 2002-04 recession. State aid fell 2.7% from fiscal year 2002 to 2004. http://www.mass.gov/Muni_dor/springfield.html

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Political pressure primarily from public sector unions stymied the original bill and led to an unusual non-committee hearing held jointly by both houses of the Massachusetts Legislature. The final FCB bill was passed without a suspension of Chapter 150E.

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As of 2005, the FCB had successfully cut the city deficit by about 80%. However, this was not without controversy among the city's unionized workforce. Contract negotiation between the FCB and city unions have been tense, especially with teachers. The FCB proposed a merit-pay contract for the city's school teachers in contrast to traditional seniority-based compensation.

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