History of Springfield, Massachusetts
The history of Springfield, Massachusetts dates back to the colonial period, when it was founded in 1636 as Agawam Plantation, named after a nearby village of Algonkian-speaking Native Americans. It was the northernmost settlement of the Connecticut Colony. The settlement defected from Connecticut after four years, however, later joining forces with the coastal Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town changed its name to Springfield, and changed the political boundaries among what later became the states of New England. The decision to establish a settlement sprang in large part from its favorable geography, situated on a steep bluff overlooking the Connecticut River's confluence with three tributaries. It was a Native American crossroad for two major trade routes: Boston-to-Albany and New York City-to-Montreal. Springfield also sits on some of the northeastern United States' most fertile soil.[1]
Springfield flourished for the decades after its founding, operating as a trading post surrounding by numerous colonial farmsteads. The nearby
Innovations in the 19th and 20th centuries include the first American English dictionary (1805,
17th century
Native inhabitants
It is difficult to estimate the origins of human habitation in the Connecticut River Valley, but there are physical signs dating back at least 9,000 years. Pocumtuck tradition describes the creation of Lake Hitchcock in Deerfield by a giant beaver, which perhaps represents the action of a glacier that retracted at least 12,000 years ago. Various sites indicate millennia of fishing, horticulture, beaver-hunting, and burials. Excavations over the last 150 years have taken many human remains from old burial places, sending them to the collections of institutions such as UMASS Amherst. The passage of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act in 1990 ordered museums across Western Mass and the country to repatriate these remains to Native peoples, an ongoing process.
The region was inhabited by several Algonkian-speaking Native American communities, culturally connected but distinguished by the place names they assigned to their respective communities: Agawam (low land), Woronco (in a circular way), Nonotuck (in the midst of the river), Pocumtuck (narrow, swift river), and Sokoki (separated from their neighbors). The modern-day Springfield metropolitan area was inhabited by the Agawam Indians.[8] The Agawam, as well as other groups, belong the larger cultural category of Alongkian Indians.
In 1634, Dutch traders triggered a devastating smallpox epidemic in among the region's Native people.[8] Governor Bradford of Massachusetts writes that in Windsor (the site of the Dutch trading post), "of 1,000 of [the Indians] 150 of them died." With so many dead, "rot[ting] above ground for want of burial," English colonists were emboldened to attempt significant settlement of the region.[9]
Colonial settlement
Puritan
Cable and Woodcock found the
On May 15, 1636, Pynchon led a settlement expedition to be administered by the
In 1636, Pynchon's party purchased land on both sides of Connecticut River from 18 tribesmen who lived at a palisade fort at the current site of Springfield's Longhill Street. The price paid was 18 hoes, 18 fathoms of wampum, 18 coats, 18 hatchets, and 18 knives.[14][15] Ahaughton was a signatory, witness, and likely negotiator for the deed. The Indians retained foraging and hunting rights and the rights to their existing farmlands, and were granted the right to compensation if livestock owned by colonists ruined their corn crops.[16] As is the case for many Indian deeds, it is dubious whether or not the Native signatories of the document possessed the political authority to sign on behalf of their tribes.[8]
In 1636, the fledgling colonial settlement was named Agawam Plantation and administered by the Connecticut Colony, as opposed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[17]
Leaving Connecticut for Massachusetts
Town | Date of separation[18] |
---|---|
Westfield | 1669 |
Suffield (CT) (as Southfield) | 1682 |
Enfield (CT) (as Freshwater) | 1683 |
Stafford (CT) | 1719 |
Somers (CT) (from Enfield) | 1734 |
Wilbraham | 1763 |
East Windsor (CT) (northern part) | 1768 |
West Springfield | 1774 |
Ludlow | 1774 |
Southwick | 1775 (from Westfield) |
Montgomery | 1780 (from Westfield) |
Longmeadow | 1783 |
Russell | 1792 (from Westfield) |
Chicopee | 1848 |
Holyoke (except Smith's Ferry) | 1850 (from W. Springfield) |
Agawam | 1855 (from W. Springfield) |
Hampden | 1878 (from Wilbraham) |
East Longmeadow | 1894 (from Longmeadow) |
In 1640 and 1641, two events took place that forever changed the political boundaries of the Connecticut River Valley. From its founding until that time, Springfield had been administered by Connecticut along with Connecticut's three other settlements: Wethersfield, Hartford, and Windsor. In the spring of 1640, grain became scarce and the Connecticut Colony's cattle were dying of starvation. The nearby Connecticut River Valley settlements of Windsor and Hartford (then called "Newtown") gave power to William Pynchon to buy corn for all three English settlements. If the natives would not sell their corn at market prices, then Pynchon was authorized to offer more money. The natives refused to sell their corn at market prices, and then later refused to sell it at what Pynchon deemed "reasonable" prices. Pynchon refused to buy it, believing it best not to broadcast the English colonists' weaknesses, and also wanting to keep market values steady.[19]
Leading citizens of what would become Hartford were furious with Pynchon for not purchasing the grain. With Windsor's and Wethersfield's consent, the Connecticut Colony's three southern settlements commissioned
Ultimately, in 1640, Pynchon and the planters of Agawam voted to separate themselves from the other river towns, removing themselves from the jurisdiction of Connecticut Colony. Looking to capitalize on Springfield's defection, the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided to reassert its jurisdiction over land bordering the Connecticut River, including Agawam.
Tensions between Springfield and Connecticut were exacerbated by one final confrontation in 1640. Hartford had been keeping a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, for protection against various tribes and the New Netherland Colony. After Springfield sided with the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Connecticut, demanded that Springfield's boats pay a toll when passing the Fort at Old Saybrook, (which, at the time, was not administered by the Connecticut Colony, but the short-lived Saybrook Colony.) Pynchon would have been agreeable to this if Springfield could have had representation at the Fort at Saybrook; however, Connecticut refused to allow Springfield a presence at the fort, and thus Pynchon instructed his boats to refuse to pay Connecticut's toll. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony heard about this controversy, it took Pynchon's side and immediately drafted a resolution that required Connecticut ships to pay a toll when entering Boston Harbor. Connecticut, which was then dependent largely on trade with Boston, immediately dropped its tax on Springfield.[19]
When the dust finally settled, Pynchon was named magistrate of Agawam by the Massachusetts Bay Colony and, in honor of his importance, the settlement was renamed Springfield after his place of birth, in England.[19] For decades, Springfield, which then included modern-day Westfield, was the westernmost settlement in Massachusetts.
In 1642,
Early "firsts"
In 1645, 46 years before the
In 1651, a different Mary Parsons was accused of witchcraft, and also of murdering her own child.
William Pynchon was the
William's son, John Pynchon, and his brother-in-law, Elizur Holyoke, quickly took on the settlement's leadership roles. They began moving Springfield away from the diminishing fur trade into agricultural pursuits. In 1655, John Pynchon launched America's first cattle drive, prodding a herd from Springfield to Boston along the old Bay Path Trail.[14]
Purchases of large swaths of land from the Indians continued throughout the 17th century, enlarging Springfield's territory and forming other colonial towns elsewhere in the Connecticut River Valley. Westfield was the westernmost settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony until 1725, and Springfield was, as it remains today, the colony's most populous and important western settlement.[15] Over decades and centuries, portions of Springfield were partitioned off to form neighboring towns; however, throughout the centuries, Springfield has remained the region's most populous and most important city.
Due to imprecision in surveying colonial borders, Springfield became embroiled in a boundary dispute between the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the
Trade and encroachment
For the next several decades, Native people experienced a complex relationship with the colonists. The fur trade stood at the heart of their economic interactions, a lucrative business that guided many other policy decisions. White settlers traded wampum, cloth and metal in exchange for furs, as well as horticultural produce. Because of the seasonal nature of goods provided by Native people, compared with the constant availability of colonial goods, a credit system developed. Land, the natural resource whose availability did not fluctuate, served as collateral for mortgages in which Native people bought goods from colonists in exchange for the future promise of beavers. However, trade with the colonists made pelts so lucrative that the beaver was rapidly overhunted. The volume of the trade fell, from a 1654 high of 3,723 pelts to a mere 191 ten years later. With every mortgage, Native people lost more land - even as their population base recovered and expanded from previous epidemics of diseases.[25]
In a process that historian Lisa Brooks calls "the deed game", colonists acquired an increasing amount of land from Indian tribes through debt, fraudulent purchases and a variety of other methods.[26] Springfield settler Samuel Marshfield took so much land from the inhabitants of Agawam that they had “little left to plant on,” to the point that the Massachusetts General Court stepped in and forced Marshfield to allocate them 15 acres. Native people began to construct and gather in palisaded “forts” - structures that were not necessary beforehand. The Agawam fort outside of Springfield was on Long Hill, although it is commonly (incorrectly) believed that it stood in a modern-day park called “King Philip’s Stockade.” These sites were excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries by anthropologists, who, as previously noted, took cultural objects and human remains and displayed them for years in area museums. With the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, a long process of repatriation began.[citation needed]
Tensions between the colonists (including those living in Sprinfield) and surrounding Indian tribes, which had already been poor for some time, continued to deteriorate in the years preceding the outbreak of
King Philip's War
Wamsutta's brother, Chief Metacomet (known to inhabitants of Springfield as "Philip,") began a war against colonial expansion in New England which spread across the region. As the conflict grew in its initial months, colonists throughout Western Massachusetts became deeply concerned with maintaining the loyalty of "their Indians."[27] The Agawams cooperated, even providing valuable intelligence to the colonists.[citation needed]
In August 1675, a group of colonists in Hadley demanded the disarming of a “fort” of Nonotuck Indians. Unwilling to relinquish their weapons, they left on the night of August 25. A hundred colonists pursued them, catching up to them at the foot of Sugarloaf Hill, which was a sacred space for the Nonotucks called the Great Beaver. The colonists attacked, but the Nonotucks forced them to withdraw and were able to keep moving.[28] The shedding of Native blood on sacred land was an attack on their entire kinship network, a reality whose implications were not lost to John Pynchon. He forced the Agawams of Long Hill to send hostages down to Hartford, in a move that he hoped would prevent the Agawam people from fighting alongside their kin. These efforts did not succeed.[citation needed]
In October 1675, warriors from other villages joined the Agawams at their village at Long Hill, preparing for one of the largest battles in King Philip's War. The historian Charles Barrows speculates that prior to carrying out the attack, they sent messengers to Hartford to encourage facilitate the escape of the Agawam hostages being held there. Possibly because these members, a Native man named Toto, who lived between Springfield and Hartford in Windsor and was connected to the Wolcott family, learned of and warned the colonists of Springfield about the impending attack.[29]
On October 5, 1675, despite the advance warning, during the Siege of Springfield, 45 of Springfield's 60 houses were burned to the ground, as were the grist and saw mills belonging to village leader John Pynchon, which became smoldering ruins.[30] Following the Siege of Springfield, serious thought was given to abandoning the village of Springfield and defecting to nearby towns; however, residents of Springfield endured the winter of 1675 under siege conditions. During that winter, Captain Miles Morgan's block-house became Springfield's fortress. It held-out until messengers had been despatched to Hadley, after which thirty-six men (the standing army of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), under command of Captain Samuel Appleton, marched to Springfield and raised the siege. Today, a large bronze statue of Morgan, who lost his son Pelatiah and son-in-law Edmund Prinrideyes in King Philip's War, stands in Springfield's Court Square, showing him in huntsman's dress with a rifle over his shoulder.
During King Philip's War, over 800 settlers were killed and approximately 8,000 Natives were killed, enslaved, or made refugees.[31] Some histories mark the end of the war with the death of Metacom in the summer of 1676, however the conflict extended into present-day Maine, where the Wabanakis succuesfully managed to persuade the colonists to sign a truce after a period of conflict.[26]
Following the war, the greater part of the Native American population left Western Massachusetts behind, although land cessions from Native people to the colonists continued into the 1680's.[32] Many native refugees of the conflict joined the Wabanaki in the north, where their descendants remain today. Native warriors returned to Western Massachusetts alongside the French during the Seven Years' War, and oral histories recall Abenaki visitors to Deerfield as recently as the 1830s.[8]
Today, it is claimed that King Philip incited the Agawam Indians into the attack, on a hilltop now known as King Philip's Stockade. It is a Springfield city park that offers excellent views of the Connecticut River, city skyline, picnic pavilions, and a statue depicting the famous Windsor Indian who tried to warn the residents of Springfield of impending danger. The actual location of the stockaded Indian village is about a mile north, off Longhill Street, on a bluff overlooking the river. In 2005, a group of Native people from the Nipmuc Nation in Worcester performed a rededication ceremony of the "Stockade."[33]
18th century
The Springfield Armory
Then as now, a major crossroads, during the 1770s, George Washington selected a high bluff in Springfield as the site of the U.S. National Armory. Washington selected Springfield for its centrality to important American cities and resources, its easy access to the Connecticut River and because, as today, the city served as the nexus for well-traveled roads. Washington's officer Henry Knox noted that Springfield was far enough upstream on the Connecticut River to guard against all but the most aggressive sea attacks. He concluded that “the plain just above Springfield is perhaps one of the most proper spots on every account” for the location of a National Arsenal.[14] During the War of Independence, the arsenal at Springfield provided supplies and equipment for the American forces. At that time, the arsenal stored muskets, cannons, and other weapons; it also produced paper cartridges. Barracks, shops, storehouses, and a magazine were built, but no arms were manufactured. After the war the government retained the facility to store arms for future needs.
By the 1780s, the Arsenal was the United States' largest ammunition and weapons depot, which made it the logical focal point for Shays' Rebellion (see below).[34] On the recommendations of then U.S. President George Washington, Congress formally established the Springfield Armory in 1794. In 1795, the Springfield Armory produced the first American-made musket, and during that year, produced 245 muskets.[4] Until its closing in 1968, the Armory developed and produced a majority of the arms that served American soldiers in the nation's successful wars. Its presence also set Springfield on the path of industrial innovation that would result in the city becoming known as the "City of Progress" [35][36][37] and later as the "City of Firsts."
The term
The 55 acres (220,000 m2) within the Armory's famous ornamental cast-iron fence are now administered by Springfield Technical Community College and the National Park Service. Most of the buildings were erected during the 19th century, with the oldest dating from 1808. The complex reflects the Armory commanders’ goal of creating an institution with dignity and architectural integrity worthy of the increasing strength of the federal government.
Shays' Rebellion
Shays's Rebellion – the most crucial battle of which was fought at the Springfield Armory in 1787 – was the United States' first populist revolt. It prompted George Washington to come out of retirement, and catalyzed the U.S. Founding Fathers to craft the U.S. Constitution. On May 25, 1787, General Henry Knox, the Secretary of War, addressed the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia: “The commotion of Massachusetts have wrought prodigious changes in the minds of men in the State respecting the Powers of Government... They must be strengthened, there is no security of liberty or property.” [39]
Shays' Rebellion was led, in part, by
Court at Springfield shut down by angry mob
In July 1786, a diverse group of Western Massachusetts gentlemen, farmers, and war veterans – often characterized as "yeoman farmers" by the Massachusetts and Federal governments, convened in Southampton, Massachusetts, to write-up a list of grievances with the 1780 Massachusetts State Constitution. Among, the conventioneers was William Pynchon, the voice of Springfield's – and the Connecticut River Valley's – most powerful family. The convention produced twenty-one articles – 17 were grievances, necessitating radical changes to Massachusetts' State Constitution. They included moving the Massachusetts State Legislature out of Boston to a more central location, where Boston's mercantile elite could no longer control the state government for its own financial gain; abolishing the Massachusetts State Senate, which was dominated by Boston's merchants and was in essence a redundant given that Massachusetts already had a State Legislature that dealt with similar issues; and revising election rules so that State Legislators would be held accountable yearly via elections. Grievances were also voiced about Massachusetts' excessively complex, seemingly money-driven court system and the scarcity of paper money to pay state taxes.
Rather than address the Southampton Convention's grievances, both houses of the Massachusetts State Legislature went on vacation. After this, "Regulators" began gathering in mobs of thousands, forcing the closure of Massachusetts' county courts. The Regulators shut down court proceedings in Northampton, Worcester, Concord, Taunton, Great Barrington, and then finally, even the Supreme Judicial Court in Springfield.
Massachusetts' Governor Bowdoin – along with Boston's former patriots, like Samuel Adams, who had, it seemed, lost touch with common people – were zealously unsympathetic to the Regulators' cause. Samuel Adams wanted the Regulators "put to death immediately." In response, Governor Bowdoin dispatched a militia financed by Boston merchants led by former Revolutionary War General Benjamin Lincoln, as well as a militia of 900 men led by General William Shepard to protect Springfield.[41] The militia members, however, generally sympathized with the Regulators and more often than not, defected to the Regulators rather than remain with Massachusetts' militia. News of the Rebellion in Western Massachusetts reached the Continental Congress in late 1786. The Congress authorized troops to put down the rebellion; however, the government insisted that it was for fighting Indians in Ohio. In the Massachusetts State Legislature, Elbridge Gerry noted that the 'fighting Indians in Ohio' excuse was "laughable."[42]
The Battle of the U.S. Arsenal at Springfield
By January 1787, thousands of men from Western Massachusetts, Eastern New York, Vermont, and Connecticut had joined the Regulators; however, many were scattered across the expanse of Western Massachusetts. On January 25, 1787, three major Regulator armies were coalescing on Springfield in attempt to overtake the U.S. Federal
On January 25, 1787, Shays's and Parson's armies approached the Arsenal at Springfield expecting Day's army to back them up. General William Shepard's Massachusetts militia – which had been withered by defections to the Regulators – was already inside the Arsenal. General Shepard had requested permission from U.S. Secretary of Defense Henry Knox to use the weaponry in the Arsenal, because technically its firepower belonged to the United States, and not the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Secretary of War Henry Knox denied the request on the grounds that it required Congressional approval and that Congress was out of session; however, Shepard used the Arsenal's weapons anyway.[43]
When Shays, Parsons, and their forces neared the Arsenal, they found Shepard's militia waiting for them – and they were baffled by the location of Luke Day's army. Shepard ordered a warning shot. Two cannons were fired directly into Shays's men. Four of the Shaysites were killed, and thirty were immediately wounded. No musket fire took place. The rear of Shays's army ran, leaving his Captain James White "casting a look of scorn before and behind," and then fled. Without reinforcements from Day, the rebels were unsuccessful in taking the Springfield Arsenal.
The militia captured many of the rebels on February 4 in Petersham, Massachusetts. Over the course of the next several weeks, the rebels were dispersed; however, skirmishes continued for approximately a year thereafter.
Governor Bowdoin declared that Americans would descend into "a state of anarchy, confusion, and slavery" unless the rule of the law was upheld.[44] Shays's Rebellion, however, was – like American Revolution – an armed uprising against a rule of law perceived to be unjust.[45] Ultimately, Shays's Rebellions' legacy is the United States Constitution.
19th century
The City of Progress
The City of Springfield, and, in particular, the Springfield Armory played an important role in the early Industrial Revolution. As of 2011, Springfield is nicknamed The City of Firsts; however, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, its nickname was The City of Progress.[35][36][37] Throughout its history, Springfield has been a center of commercial invention, ideological progress, and technological innovation. For example, in 1819, inventor Thomas Blanchard and his lathe led to the uses of interchangeable parts and assembly line mass production, which went on to influence the entire world – while originally making arms production at The Springfield Armory faster and less expensive.[47] Blanchard – and Springfield – are credited with the discovery of the assembly line manufacturing process.[38] Blanchard also invented the first modern car in Springfield, a "horseless carriage" powered by steam.[48]
The first American-English dictionary was produced in Springfield in 1806 by the company now known as
In Springfield, "The City of Progress," many products were invented that are still popular and necessary today. For example, in 1844,
Well known for it “firsts," Springfield also has the distinction of being the last
Even following the Civil War, Springfield remained a locus of early black culture, as the place where Irvine Garland Penn's The Afro-American Press and Its Editors was first published in 1891. Among the notable residents of the city was Primus P. Mason, a real estate investor of the city for whom Mason Square is so named, who donated his estate to found the Mason-Wright Retirement Home. In his book Efforts for Social Betterment Among Negro Americans W.E.B. DuBois described Mason as "one of the chief Negro Philanthropists of our time" for his creation of what Mason himself wrote in his will of "a place where old men that are worthy may feel at home".[51]
In 1852, Springfield was chartered as a city; however, only after decades of debate, which, in 1848, resulted in the partitioning off of the northern part of Springfield into
In 1855, the formation of the
In 1856,
By 1870 the expansion of industry had created the opportunity for the creation of a trolley system; the Springfield Street Railway began horsecar service on March 10, 1870, followed by its first electric line in Forest Park two decades later on June 6, 1890. By 1905 the city had more track than New York City at that time, and the lines drove the success of suburbs like McKnight as workers began commuting further distances.[52]
On September 20, 1893, Springfielders
In 1899, the Springfield Ethnological and Natural History Museum (now the Springfield Science Museum) opened in its new building on October 16, 1899.[56][57] Prior to this, the museum had existed as a curiosities collection established in December 1859 in City Hall, later hosted at the City Library beginning in 1871.[56][58]
The birthplace of basketball
Today, the city of Springfield is known worldwide as the birthplace of the sport of
Basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936, and since its burst of popularity during the 1980s and 1990s, has gone on to become the world's second most popular sport (after
On February 17, 1968, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was opened on the Springfield College campus. In 1985, it was replaced by a larger facility on the bank of the Connecticut River. In 2002, a new, architecturally significant Hall of Fame was constructed next to the existing site, (which was subsequently converted into restaurants and an LA Fitness club). Shaped like a giant basketball and illuminated at night, the Basketball Hall of Fame is currently one of the most architecturally recognizable buildings recently constructed in Springfield.
Today, both amateur and professional basketball are an integral part of Springfield's culture. Springfield's professional basketball team, the
"Art & Soles", a 2010
20th century
External videos | |
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Mayor Fordis Parker speaking about newest accomplishments of the city and an aerial view of Springfield, Fox Movietone News (1929) |
The Duryeas were joined in Springfield's automobile industry in 1900 by
In 1901,
By the first decade of the 20th century, the City of Springfield featured over 10% of all manufacturing plants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a far greater percentage of its precision machinery manufacturing plants, (as opposed to textile manufacturing plants, which were more prevalent in eastern Massachusetts.) [30]
In the 1920s, the city's precision manufacturing base attracted England's Rolls-Royce, who concluded, “The artisans of Springfield – from long experience in fine precision work – were found to possess the same pride in workmanship as the craftsmen of England." From 1921 until 1931, Rolls-Royce located its only manufacturing plant outside England in Springfield. It assembled nearly 3000 Silver Ghosts and Phantoms before production was halted by the Great Depression and the decision by Rolls-Royce not to retool the plant.[68] The Rolls-Royce factory is adjacent to the former Indian Motorcycle manufacturing plant, by American International College.
Granville Brothers Aircraft manufactured aircraft at Springfield Airport from 1929 until their bankruptcy in 1934. They are best known for the trophy and speed record holding Senior Sportster ("GeeBee") series of racing aircraft.
During this time, Springfield pioneered developments in mass media. For example, the United States' first commercial radio station was founded in Springfield in 1921,
During this period, then-U.S. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, who served under U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, famously opined, "Here is a center from which thought emanates. What is said in Springfield is heard around the world."[70]
The great floods of 1936 and 1938 and their effects
In 1936, at the height of America's Great Depression, the City of Springfield suffered one of its most devastating natural disasters prior to the tornadoes of 2011. The Connecticut River flooded, reaching record heights, inundating the South End and the North End neighborhoods, where some of Springfield's finest mansions stood. Damages were estimated at $200,000,000 in 1936 dollars.
Much of the water damage was repaired after
Due to Springfield's two Great Floods, large portions of the North End and South End neighborhoods no longer exist.
During the 1960s,
Forty year decline and immigration trends
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"Public choices", cinéma vérité of Springfield in 1969, showing both urban decay and federal projects, silent, filmed by A. Simon Mielniczuk for AIC B.A. in Sociology |
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Springfield endured a protracted decline, accelerated by the decommission of the Springfield Armory in 1969. Springfield became increasingly like the declining, second tier Northeastern U.S. cities from which it had long been set apart. During the 1980s and 1990s, Springfield developed a new reputation for crime, political corruption, and cronyism. Seeking to overcome its downgrade, the city undertook several large (but unfinished) projects, including a $1 billion high-speed rail (
In 1968, the theretofore stalwart
In addition to the influx of Latinos, as of the
Interstate 91 is constructed, amputating Springfield from the river
During the late 1960s, the elevated, 8-lane Interstate 91 was constructed on Springfield's riverfront – effectively blocking Springfielders' access to "The Great River." For generations, the land that became Interstate 91 was the city's most valuable land for both economic and recreational purposes. The I-91 construction also covered the mouth of the Mill River. Academics note that both rivers would present major economic opportunities if I-91 was altered.[78] In 2010, the Urban Land Institute proposed a plan for Springfield to reclaim its rivers.[71]
The original plan for Interstate 91 – detailed in the 1953 Master Highway Plan for the Springfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Area – called for I-91 to occupy
Although West Springfield had a right and legal claim to Interstate 91, State highway officials relented to Springfield's City Planners' pressures when confronted with a technicality – a short, existing section of US 5 through West Springfield that was built during the early 1950s failed to meet Interstate design standards. Thus, the plans for I-91 were shelved in West Springfield, and hastily moved to the eastern bank of the river.
From its construction until the present, Interstate 91's design flaws have contributed to logistical problems in Springfield. Due to I-91's close proximity to both Springfield's densely built downtown and the city's rail lines and riverfront, no more than a few businesses could be built to capitalize on highway traffic. Thus, Springfield never received the promised economic benefit from I-91 – indeed, the highway's construction coincided with the start of Springfield's four decades of economic decline. Also, throughout Springfield, I-91 was constructed as an elevated highway, which blocked all riverfront views in downtown. Beneath the elevated highway, the City of Springfield's largest parking garage was constructed at 1756 spaces, as were a series of stone walls and grassy knolls, which have made the riverfront difficult to access by foot.[78][80]
The highway construction sliced through three of Springfield's most (theretofore) desirable neighborhoods and many historical landmarks – among them,
In 2010, the Urban Land Institute released a plan that proposed several different options for re-configuring Interstate 91. Currently, many Springfielders are enthused at the prospect of finally being reunited with the Mill River, and especially the Connecticut River.[71]
History of Springfield's skyline
See: List of tallest buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts
As of 2011, Springfield's skyline features relatively fewer skyscrapers than most of its peer cities. The reason for this has to do with the 1908 construction of Springfield's
Springfield's building height law remained in effect until 1970, when the city's economy began to falter, and residents started to complain that Springfield looked "old-fashioned." In response to this, the city's 62-year-old building height law was abolished, and renowned architect
As of 2011, the 400-foot (120 m) Monarch Place remains Springfield's tallest skyscraper; however, the city's lack of numerous skyscrapers is now looked on as a positive trait by city advisors such as the
21st century
Finance board: 2004–2009
Springfield began experiencing fiscal trouble during the 1980s; however, the city's finances nearly collapsed in the first decade of the 21st century with budget shortfalls of approximately $40 million.[66] City and state officials disagreed over the crisis' causes. The State blamed overspending relative to income by the City. City officials blamed inequities in the ways additional assistance appropriations were allocated to Springfield relative to other Massachusetts cities. Both sides were correct. Springfield was overspending relative to its income, as the Commonwealth claimed. However, Springfield officials were also correct – for every $287.66 per capita in additional assistance appropriations allocated to Boston, $176.37 per capita were allocated to Cambridge, $67.50 per capita were allocated to Worcester, and a mere $12.04 per capita were allocated to Springfield.[87] Aside from overspending and gross inequities in State funding, other observers of Springfield's fiscal crisis noted a weak economy, years of incompetent management, and corruption in city government.[88]
The city's financial problems had already resulted in wage freezes for city workers, cuts in city services, layoffs, and various city fee increases; however, on June 30, 2004, the Massachusetts General Court granted control of the city (including financial, personnel, and real estate matters) to the Springfield Finance Control Board. The board was composed of three appointees by the State Secretary of Administration and Finance, Springfield's Mayor, and the President of the City Council.[89][90]
The Financial Control Board (FCB) operated under the overall direction of the State Secretary of Finance and Administration. The FCB legislation included a state loan of $52 million to be paid back with future city tax receipts.
The original FCB bill filed by then-Governor Mitt Romney included a suspension of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 150E, the state law that defines the collective bargaining process for public employees. (State employees are not covered by federal labor laws). Opposition from unions eliminated that section.
During the first several years of the Financial Control Board, officials concentrated on "controlling personnel costs,"[66] However, in 2006 the FCB hired the Urban Land Institute to study Springfield and then conceive a viable plan for the city's revitalization. The ULI's study and subsequent 'Plan for Springfield' resulted in significant improvements throughout Springfield's Metro Center, a dramatic citywide drop-off in crime, and a viable course for the city's continued resurgence.
On June 30, 2009, the State of Massachusetts disbanded the Finance Control Board and returned financial control to the City of Springfield
Revitalization: 2007 – June 1, 2011
From 2007 until mid-2009, Springfield pursued the National Urban Land Institute's "Plan for Springfield," which revived the city's fortunes, engendering large-scale aesthetic improvements, infrastructure investments, and construction projects. For several years, these projects renewed Springfield's traditionally robust civic pride. Despite the National Urban Land Institute's Plan's success, following the Massachusetts' Finance Board 's departure from Springfield in June 2009, the National ULI Plan was disregarded by Mayor Domenic Sarno, who purged City Hall of most of its (Boston-based) staff, which oversaw Springfield's comeback. After operating for three years without a city plan, Mayor Sarno adopted a privately funded plan known as RebuildSpringfield, which was unveiled in 2012.[92]
During the days of the National ULI Plan, Metro Center saw the construction of numerous, new buildings, (e.g., architect Moshe Safdie's $57 million new Federal Courthouse)[93] and the adaptive re-use of several historic buildings, (e.g., the $110 million adaptive re-use of Springfield's original Technical High School into Massachusetts' new, high-tech Data Center).[94][95] The North End continues to benefit from the construction of Baystate Health's "Hospital of the Future" – a $300 million, private construction project that will add over 550 new doctors to the facility – expected to be complete in 2012.[96]
Concurrently, from 2007 until 2011, numerous destination events took root in Springfield, increasing liveliness in the city. These include the annual Hoop City Jazz Festival – sponsored by Springfield-headquartered Hampden Bank – which has featured blues legend, Springfielder Taj Mahal; Springfield's new, annual Gay Pride Week, which features political discussions, films, and celebrations; and the Vintage Sports Car Club of America's new, officially sponsored race, the Springfield Vintage Grand Prix, which is held on the streets of Metro Center.[97][98][99]
Decrease in crime
Since 1997, U.S. and local crime statistics indicate that Springfield experienced a decrease in both violent crime and property crime, with both falling over 50%. Crime numbers bottomed out in 2009, increasing negligibly in 2010 and 2011.[100] Independent sources also note Springfield's decrease in criminal activity, including Morgan Quinto's annual "United States City Crime Rankings," which also show a 50% drop-off in the city's overall crime.[101][102] In 2010, Springfield ranked 51st in those rankings, in which it had once – in just 2003 – ranked 18th.[101][102]
Springfield's mature economy: healthcare; higher education; and transportation
From 2007 to 2010, Springfield prospered economically in relation to its peer cities, while enduring "the worst American economic crisis since the Great Depression."[103] Springfield is considered to have a "mature" economy, built on primarily healthcare, higher education, transportation, and to an extent, a still existent precision manufacturing center, (e.g. Smith & Wesson added 225 jobs in 2011.) [104]
Major private medical investments have included Baystate Health's $300 million "Hospital of the Future".[96] It has been reported that, on its completion in 2012, Baystate will hire 550 new doctors, approximately doubling the hospital's current capacity.[105]
In 2010, two of Springfield's most prestigious higher education institutions built multimillion-dollar facilities, which opened in 2011.
During Springfield's brief renaissance, the city's largest proposed monetary investment occurred in rail infrastructure – specifically, in the proposed, first-ever in the United States high-speed rail line.
Springfield tornado of June 1, 2011
On June 1, 2011, at approximately 4:45pm, the City of Springfield was directly hit by a tornado with wind speeds estimated at 160 mph (260 km/h), (a high-end EF3 on the
The Greater Springfield tornado left four people dead, hundreds of people suffering in hospitals with injuries ranging from lightning strikes to trauma, and over 500 people homeless in the City of Springfield alone, most of whom stayed at the MassMutual Center arena and convention center.[118][119] Over two weeks after the disaster, more than 250 people were still living at the MassMutual Center, homeless.[120]
The tornado crossed over the
After devastating the South End, the tornado moved east and headed up historic Maple Street, on and around which it caused significant damage. It seriously damaged the campus of
Immediately following the tornado, Governor Deval Patrick declared a "State of Emergency" for the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That day, United States Senator from Massachusetts
"Firsts" in Springfield
The City of Springfield is known as the City of Firsts because, throughout the centuries, its citizens have boldly created avant-garde products, organizations, and ideas. Today, the most famous among Springfield's "firsts" is the sport of basketball, invented in 1891 and now the world's second most popular sport. Below is a partial list of the City of Springfield's "firsts:" [127]
Year | Notable event/development | Credited to |
---|---|---|
1636 | First Springfield in the New World | William Pynchon |
1640 | First Accusation of Witchcraft in the New World | Mary and Hugh Parsons |
1641 | First Meat Packer (exporting salt pork) | William Pynchon |
1651 | First Banned Book in the New World
|
William Pynchon |
1777 | First Federal Arsenal | Springfield Armory, founded by George Washington and Henry Knox |
1794 | First Armory in the United States | Springfield Armory |
1795 | First American-Made Musket | Springfield Armory |
1806 | First American-English Dictionary | Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
1806 | First American Edition of the Koran[128]
|
Henry Brewer, printer, for Isaiah Thomas, publisher |
1820 | First machining lathe for interchangeable parts (leading to assembly line mass production) | Thomas Blanchard |
1826 | First Modern Burning Steam Carriage | Thomas Blanchard |
1830 | First Major American History Book | George Bancroft |
1834 | First Kitchen Friction Match | Chapin & Phillips Company |
1844 | First Vulcanization of Rubber | Charles Goodyear |
1849 | First Clamp-On Ice Skate | Everett Hosmer Barney (Barney & Berry, Inc).
|
1853 | First National Horse Show in United States | |
1854 | First Adjustable Monkey Wrench
|
Bemis & Call Company |
1855 | First Show of School Colors | Harvard vs. Yale Rowing Race on the Connecticut River |
1855 | Naming of the United States Republican Party
|
Samuel Bowles |
1857 | First American Railroad Sleeping Car (also known as Pullman Car )
|
Wason Manufacturing Company |
1860 | First American Popular Parlor Game | The Game of Life by Milton Bradley Company |
1861 | Pocket-Size Travel Games | Game for Soldiers by the Milton Bradley Company |
1863 | First United States Registered Bank | National Bank of Springfield |
1868 | First Flat-Bottomed Paper Bag | Margaret E. Knight for Columbia Paper Bag Company |
1869 | First Producer of Supplementary Education Material for Kindergarten Education | Milton Bradley Company |
1873 | First Postcard in United States | Morgan Envelope Factory |
1875 | First Dog Show in United States
|
Springfield Rod & Gun Club |
1877 | First Social Service Agency in United States | Union Relief Association |
1878 | First Commercial Telephone Toll Line (from Springfield to Holyoke)[129] | Springfield Telephone and Automatic Signal Company |
1881 | First Planned Residential Neighborhood | The McKnight Historic District; John and William McKnight |
1882 | First Music Appreciation Course | Springfield Public Schools |
1886 | First Revolver Club | Springfield Revolver Club, organized by Smith & Wesson[130] |
1891 | First Game of Basketball | Dr. James Naismith of Springfield College
|
1893 | First Gasoline-powered Automobile
|
Charles E and J. Frank Duryea
|
1899 | First Public Swimming Pool in United States | Forest Park |
1901 | First Successful Motorcycle | Indian Motocycle |
1902 | First Window Envelope | U. S. Envelope Company |
1905 | First Modern, Motorized Fire Engine
|
Knox Automobile
|
1907 | First Modern, Motorized Fire Department
|
Springfield Fire Department |
1910 | First Camp Fire Girls
|
Charlotte Guilick |
1911 | First Factory Air Conditioning
|
Bosch Magneto Company |
1911 | First Measuring Gasoline Pump[131][132] | Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company (Gilbarco) |
1912 | First Agricultural Course | Hampden County Improvement League |
1912 | First Physical Education Course
|
International Y. M. C. A. College (Springfield College) |
1912 | First Basketball | Victor Sporting Goods Company of Springfield |
1918 | First American Military Regiment Decorated by a Foreign Power (France, with Croix de Guerre) | 104th Infantry Regiment |
1918 | First Community Chest | |
1919 | First Junior Achievement Program | Horace A. Moses |
1920 | First Rolls-Royce American Automobile Plant | Frederick Royce |
1921 | First Commercial Radio Station in United States | WBZA; located at The Hotel Kimball |
1928 | First Experimental Airplane-Motorcycle Courier Service (Holyoke-Northampton-Westfield-Springfield-Hartford)[133] | United States Post Office Department, with Indian Motorcycles |
1930 | First Test Market for Frozen Foods
|
Clarence Birdseye |
1936 | First Standard-Issue Semi-Automatic Military Rifle[134] | M1 Garand by John Garand for Springfield Armory |
1937 | First American Built Planetarium | Springfield Science Museum |
1939 | First Fluorescent Lighting System Installation | Springfield Armory |
1949 | First American Discount Store | King's |
1953 | First UHF TV Station in United States | WWLP-22News |
1954 | First Municipal Council on Aging[135] | Springfield Council on Aging/Elder Affairs |
See also
- The Springfield Plan
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts
- Notable residents of Springfield, Massachusetts
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- ^ "The Quran in East and West: Manuscripts and Printed Books". The Burke Library. Columbia University Libraries. 2018. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
The almost immediately published English adaptation of du Ryer's French version (L'Alcoran de Mahomet, Paris: Sommaville, 1647), became an instant bestseller among English-reading audiences. In North America this seventeenth-century English Quran version circulated until the nineteenth century, and it became the first English Quran to be published in the U.S. (Springfield, Mass.: Henry Brewer for Isaiah Thomas, jun., 1806)
- ^ "Southern New England Telephone Company: The First Fifty Years, 1878-1928". Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. University of Connecticut. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008.
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- ^ "Manual Crank Gasoline Pump, circa 1915". The Henry Ford. Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
Gas pumps provide drivers with an easy way to put gasoline in their cars. This gas pump, made by Gilbert and Barker Manufacturing Company, dates from about 1915. Gilbert and Barker introduced the first measuring gas pump in 1911. Customers, however, could not see the gasoline. They had to rely on the pump's accuracy and the gas station owner's honesty.
- ^ "Inaugural Air-Mail Letters to be Sent; Postoffice Receives Missives to Go by Auxiliary Motorcycle Service". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. March 13, 1928. p. 8.
- ^ Hogg, Ian V., & Weeks, John. Military Small-Arms of the 20th Century (London: Arms & Armour Press, 1977), p.183, "US Rifle, Caliber .30in ('Garand'), M1-M1E9, MiC, M1D, T26".
- ^ John J. McCarthy, ed. (1965). Massachusetts Firsts. Massachusetts. Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-375-70262-4.
- Swift, Esther M. West Springfield Massachusetts: A Town History. Copyright 1969, Town of West Springfield, Massachusetts. Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 77–96767. West Springfield Heritage Association; printed by F.A. Bassette Company, Springfield, Massachusetts.
- "Springfield", Handbook of New England, Boston: OCLC 16726464
- Wall & Gray. 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. Map of Massachusetts. USA. New England. Counties – Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex and Norfolk, Boston – Suffolk, Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable and Dukes (Cape Cod). Cities – Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Salem, Lynn, Taunton, Fall River. New Bedford. These 1871 maps of the Counties and Cities are useful to see the roads and rail lines.
- Beers, D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Massachusetts Plate 5. Click on the map for a very large image. Also see map of 1872 Essex County Plate 7.