The Springfield USA Tour

1. 1

   Springfield started life as "Protectworth," chartered by King George III on January 7, 1769, and only took the name Springfield when New Hampshire incorporated it in 1794, back when it had 210 residents.

   SourceA Brief Early History of Springfield (Springfield Historical Society)

2. 2

   The town has belonged to three different counties (Grafton, then Cheshire, then Sullivan) without ever moving an inch.

   SourceA Brief Early History of Springfield (Springfield Historical Society)

3. 3

   Springfield straddles a watershed divide: the Sugar River starts here and flows to the Connecticut River, while the Blackwater River also starts here and flows the other way to the Merrimack.

   SourceA Brief Early History of Springfield (Springfield Historical Society)

4. 4

   The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History holds a 625-carat colorless quartz sphere whose listed locality is Springfield, New Hampshire; local historians say it came from a Springfield mine.

   SourcesSmithsonian NMNH, Quartz G3125Springfield Historical Society

5. 5

   The town's 1790s meeting house was picked up and moved about half a mile to the village center in 1851, and it still does double duty, with town offices downstairs and summer church services in the upstairs sanctuary.

   SourceSpringfield Town Hall and Howard Memorial Methodist Church (Wikipedia, citing NRHP nomination)

6. 6

   The Protectworth Tavern on Route 4A was where the owners of the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike held their meetings, and one later owner, Nathaniel Stickney, drove the stagecoach on that same road.

   SourceProtectworth Tavern (Wikipedia, citing NRHP nomination)

7. 7

   In 1782 Judith Clifford became the first woman settler in Springfield granted land in her own name.

   SourceSpringfield Cemetery Tour (Springfield Historical Society)

8. 8

   The town built a stone pound in 1808 to hold stray livestock, and local lore holds that the impounded animals also kept the neighboring cemetery's grass trimmed.

   SourceSpringfield Cemetery Tour (Springfield Historical Society)

9. 9

   Around 1900 this small farm town became a summer retreat for families from Washington, D.C. and points south, largely thanks to the recruiting of Dr. Gary Morgan of nearby Newport.

   SourceA Brief Early History of Springfield (Springfield Historical Society)

10. 10

    Springfield's population peaked at 1,270 in 1850, sank to just 270 by 1930, and did not top its Civil War era high again until the 2010 census counted 1,311.

    SourceSpringfield, New Hampshire (Wikipedia, U.S. Census figures)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   In 2007 Springfield, Vermont beat 13 other Springfields in a video contest to host the world premiere of The Simpsons Movie, thanks to an entry by hometown filmmaker Tim Kavanagh.

   SourceVermont to Host Premiere of Simpsons Movie (NPR)

2. 2

   The Springfield Telescope Makers named their hilltop clubhouse "Stellafane," from Latin for "shrine to the stars," and a 1925 Scientific American cover story about the club helped launch amateur telescope making across the country.

   SourceJan. 30, 1924: Stellafane is born (Astronomy)

3. 3

   Stellafane's 1930 Porter Turret Telescope lets the observer sit inside a rotating concrete dome while the telescope itself stays outside, and the site was named a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

   SourceStellafane (Wikipedia, citing NPS NHL nomination)

4. 4

   Stellafane founder Russell W. Porter, born in Springfield, served as an artist on Arctic expeditions before helping design the 200-inch Palomar telescope, including its Art Deco dome.

   SourceRussell W. Porter (Linda Hall Library)

5. 5

   Machine-tool magnate James Hartness had only a grammar school education, yet he became governor of Vermont, founded the Hartness State Airport, and persuaded Charles Lindbergh to land there after his 1927 transatlantic flight.

   SourceThe Rise and Fall of Springfield, Vermont's First Tech Hub (Seven Days)

6. 6

   Springfield's precision machine shops were considered so vital during World War II that the town was reportedly on Germany's list of bombing targets.

   SourceThe Rise and Fall of Springfield, Vermont's First Tech Hub (Seven Days)

7. 7

   Springfield inventor David M. Smith patented a clothespin in 1853, an early entry in a field that went on to collect more than 2,000 U.S. clothespin patents.

   SourceDavid M. Smith and the invention of the clothespin (OpenScience)

8. 8

   In 1873 Joel A. H. Ellis of Springfield patented a friction joint that let wooden dolls hold their poses, and Springfield-made maple dolls are now in museum collections.

   SourcesU.S. Patent 139,130 (Google Patents)Wooden Doll, 1880-1885 (The Henry Ford)

9. 9

   The Eureka Schoolhouse, built in 1785 and believed to be Vermont's oldest schoolhouse, was taken apart and stored in 1958, then rebuilt piece by piece in 1968 beside the relocated Baltimore Covered Bridge.

   SourceEureka Schoolhouse (Wikipedia, citing NRHP nomination)

10. 10

    Governor Hartness's daughter, Helen Hartness Flanders, spent about 30 years recording Vermont folk songs and ballads, building an archive of more than 4,800 recordings that she kept in her Springfield home before giving it to Middlebury College in 1941.

    SourceCollecting Old Songs: Helen Hartness Flanders, 1930 (Vermont Historical Society)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   The first basketball game, played in Springfield on December 21, 1891, ended with a final score of 1-0, and the site of that gym is now occupied by a McDonald's.

   SourceBirthplace of Basketball, Springfield, Mass (Lost New England)

2. 2

   Dr. Seuss never lived on Mulberry Street, though he traveled it on his way to school, and when his first book came out some Springfield residents lined up at the bookstore worried it was gossip about them.

   SourceFact or Fiction? (Seuss in Springfield, Springfield Museums)

3. 3

   Dr. Seuss's father ran the family's Springfield Brewing Company until Prohibition, then became the city's Superintendent of Parks, overseeing Forest Park and its zoo for about 30 years.

   SourceFact or Fiction? (Seuss in Springfield, Springfield Museums)

4. 4

   From 1921 to 1931 Rolls-Royce built about 2,946 cars in Springfield, including 1,703 Silver Ghosts, which made them the most expensive American-made vehicles of the day.

   Source100 Years Ago, Rolls-Royce Rolls Along Assembly Line in Massachusetts (Motor Authority)

5. 5

   The Duryea brothers built America's first successful gasoline car in 1893 by bolting a homemade one-cylinder engine onto a used horse buggy they bought for $70.

   SourceCity of Firsts: Springfield's Automotive Innovation (Western Mass News)

6. 6

   Springfield's Knox Automobile Company produced the first gasoline-powered motorized fire truck in 1905.

   SourceCity of Firsts: Springfield's Automotive Innovation (Western Mass News)

7. 7

   Henry Knox picked the hill for the Springfield Armory in 1777 after passing through town a year earlier while hauling roughly 60 tons of cannon to Boston, calling it "one of the most proper spots in America."

   SourceWe the People: the Springfield Building That Helped Secure Independence (Western Mass News)

8. 8

   When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow toured the Armory in 1843, his wife Fanny urged him to write a peace poem, and the result was "The Arsenal at Springfield." The 645-rifle rack known as the "Organ of Muskets" is still on display with the poem beside it.

   SourceOrgan of Muskets (National Park Service)

9. 9

   Milton Bradley started out printing portraits of a clean-shaven Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, and when Lincoln grew his famous beard the prints became worthless, so Bradley pivoted to a board game, The Checkered Game of Life, which sold 40,000 copies in 1860.

   SourceMilton Bradley Makes His Fortune on Life's Checkered Past (New England Historical Society)

10. 10

    Friendly's began in 1935 as a single ice cream shop at 161 Boston Road, opened by brothers ages 20 and 18 with $547 borrowed from their parents, selling two scoops for a nickel.

    SourceFirst Friendly's Restaurant, Springfield, Mass (Lost New England)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   The Hyde Hall Covered Bridge, built in 1825 over Shadow Brook, is considered the oldest covered bridge still standing in the United States, and in 2025 it became the first one to turn 200.

   SourceAt Glimmerglass State Park, America's Oldest Covered Bridge Turns 200 (NYS Parks)

2. 2

   Hyde Hall, the lakeside mansion the bridge was built to show off, is believed to be the largest house built in the U.S. between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Guests included Theodore Roosevelt and Juliette Gordon Low, and Samuel F.B. Morse painted owner George Clarke's portrait in 1829.

   SourceAt Glimmerglass State Park, America's Oldest Covered Bridge Turns 200 (NYS Parks)

3. 3

   George Clarke married the widow of James Fenimore Cooper's older brother, and his claim to the estate's land had to be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818.

   SourceHyde Hall (Wikipedia, citing NPS and Jackson v. Clarke, 16 U.S. 1)

4. 4

   Summit Lake, northeast of Springfield Center, drains in two directions at once: south to Otsego Lake and north through an underground passage toward the Mohawk River.

   SourceSummit Lake (Wikipedia, citing SUNY Oneonta and NYS DEC)

5. 5

   A state historic marker in town labels Sunken Island in Otsego Lake the "Home of Tom Hutter," the fictional settler from Cooper's novel The Deerslayer.

   SourceList of NYS Historic Markers in Otsego County (Wikipedia)

6. 6

   Springfield's Fourth of July parade dates to 1914. Before that the town celebrated with a bicycle parade, baseball and a greased pig chase, and the parade has been canceled only twice: in 1943 for wartime gas rationing and in 2008 for an all-day rain.

   SourceSpringfield's patriotic parade (The Municipal)

7. 7

   A town marker notes Springfield's first church, built in 1787, as the first Baptist church west of the Hudson Valley. It was shared by all denominations and doubled as the hall for town meetings.

   SourceList of NYS Historic Markers in Otsego County (Wikipedia)

8. 8

   Silas Gray planted what were probably Springfield's first hops around 1825, possibly the first in Otsego County. The crop became a mainstay, and in 1876 Linus Thurston and his wife, both about 83, were still out picking hops.

   SourceTownship Sections of Mini-Biographies: Springfield (Otsego NYGenWeb)

9. 9

   Local mechanic Elisha Hall invented the Hall threshing machine, and his foundry drew so many skilled workers that the settlement around it was first called Hallsville.

   SourceTownship Sections of Mini-Biographies: Springfield (Otsego NYGenWeb)

10. 10

    Daniel Thurston, a locally famous long-haired fiddler who went hatless in the cold, was told his house was on fire and calmly advised the messenger to melt some snow and put it out.

    SourceTownship Sections of Mini-Biographies: Springfield (Otsego NYGenWeb)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   When American troops ran out of paper wadding for their muskets at the Battle of Springfield on June 23, 1780, local pastor James Caldwell grabbed Isaac Watts hymnals from a nearby church and reportedly shouted "Give 'em Watts, boys!"

   SourcesJames Caldwell: A Legacy of Faith and Fight (National Park Service)Battle of Springfield (Union County, NJ 250th Anniversary)

2. 2

   About 1,500 Americans faced roughly 6,000 British and Hessian troops at Springfield in 1780, in what Union County calls the final major confrontation between American and Crown forces in the North.

   SourceBattle of Springfield (Union County, NJ 250th Anniversary)

3. 3

   Colonel Israel Angell and his Rhode Island regiment held the Morris Avenue bridge over the Rahway River for more than 25 minutes against much larger numbers, and a plaque on the bridge still honors them.

   SourcesAbout Springfield (Township of Springfield)Springfield, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites (Revolutionary War New Jersey)

4. 4

   The Cannon Ball House, built in 1741, was one of the few buildings left standing after the British burned the village in 1780. It is now a museum and the home of the Springfield Historical Society.

   SourcesAbout Springfield (Township of Springfield)Battle of Springfield (Union County, NJ 250th Anniversary)

5. 5

   The Cannon Ball House got its name from an American cannonball that hit its west wall during the battle. The ball reportedly stayed lodged there for nearly 150 years until it fell out during cellar work in 1924, and the original is displayed inside.

   SourcesSpringfield, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites (Revolutionary War New Jersey)Cannonball House, Springfield Battle Site (American Battlefield Trust)

6. 6

   A single Continental Soldier statue outside the First Presbyterian Church on Morris Avenue marks what the township calls the smallest state park in New Jersey.

   SourcesAbout Springfield (Township of Springfield)Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey (Wikipedia, citing township history)

7. 7

   The British burned Springfield's colonial church, which had served as a Patriot storehouse, and the congregation built the Federal style church that still stands today in 1791.

   SourcesColonial Church Historical Marker (HMDB)First Presbyterian Church, Springfield (New Jersey Historic Trust)

8. 8

   Baltusrol Golf Club, named for Baltus Roll, the farmer who once owned its land, has hosted the U.S. Open seven times, and Jack Nicklaus won two of them there, in 1967 and 1980.

   SourcesCapsule major championship history: Baltusrol Golf Club (NBC Sports)Baltusrol Golf Club (Wikipedia)

9. 9

   Baltusrol was founded in 1895 by Louis Keller, publisher of the New York Social Register, and its Upper Course runs along a ridgeline called Baltusrol Mountain.

   SourcesBaltusrol Golf Club (Wikipedia)Capsule major championship history: Baltusrol Golf Club (NBC Sports)

10. 10

    Springfield was once much bigger: pieces of it were carved off to create New Providence (1809), Livingston (1813), Summit (1869) and Cranford (1871), and it switched from Essex County to the brand new Union County in 1857.

    SourceSpringfield Township, Union County, New Jersey (Wikipedia, citing Snyder, The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   William Penn reserved Springfield as one of his family's original manors in the 1680s, and the land that became Wyndmoor was his gift to his wife, Gulielma Maria Springett Penn, surveyed as "Penn's Manor of Springfield."

   SourcesWyndmoor (Springfield Township, official site)Flourtown (Springfield Township, official site)

2. 2

   In 1686 Thomas Fitzwater found large lime deposits on his Oreland land and built a kiln. By 1693 it had caught William Penn's attention, and he ordered a road from the Delaware River port to the kiln: Limekiln Pike, which is still in use today.

   SourceOreland (Springfield Township, official site)

3. 3

   Flourtown is named for its flour mills. Wissahickon Creek and its tributaries powered at least three local mills, and farmers came from around the region to have their wheat ground there.

   SourcesFlourtown (Springfield Township, official site)Flourtown, Pennsylvania (Wikipedia, citing the 1940 WPA Pennsylvania guide)

4. 4

   The Black Horse Inn at 1432 Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown dates to 1744 and was once also known as "Sampson & the Lion." Today it houses the archives of the Springfield Township Historical Society.

   SourcesBlack Horse Inn (Wikipedia, citing NRHP nomination)About Us (Springfield Township Historical Society)

5. 5

   The Springfield Mill on Wissahickon Creek traces back to 1761. It holds what Penn calls the area's most complete set of original gristmill works, driven by a wooden "great gear" about 6 feet across, and it is one of only four mills left in the Wissahickon.

   SourcesHow Penn Engineers Are Restoring Historic Springfield Mills (Penn Today)Springfield Mill (Wikipedia, citing NRHP nomination)

6. 6

   Erdenheim means "Earthly Home" in German and comes from Erdenheim Farm, established in 1765 by Johannes Georg Hocker. Before the village was laid out in 1892, locals called the area "Heydricksdale" or simply "Wheelpump," after a local inn.

   SourceErdenheim (Springfield Township, official site)

7. 7

   Before it was Wyndmoor, the village went by "Bungtown," "Spring Village," and "Tedyuscung." Accounts still differ on where the name Wyndmoor came from.

   SourceWyndmoor (Springfield Township, official site)

8. 8

   Wyndmoor was home to Whitemarsh Hall, banker Edward T. Stotesbury's 300-acre estate with a 147-room mansion designed by Horace Trumbauer and built in 1916. Its portico columns and some statuary still stand in Wyndmoor neighborhoods.

   SourcesWyndmoor (Springfield Township, official site)About Us (Springfield Township Historical Society)

9. 9

   Instant mashed potatoes owe a debt to Wyndmoor. The USDA's Eastern Regional Research Center there developed the potato flake process, which the American Chemical Society named a National Historic Chemical Landmark in 2007.

   SourcesERRC Research Honored as ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark (USDA ARS)Eastern Regional Research Center (Wikipedia, citing ACS landmark plaque)

10. 10

    The Klingon Language Institute was founded in Flourtown in 1992 by Lawrence M. Schoen. Its projects include a Klingon translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

    SourceKlingon Language Institute (Wikipedia, citing Lawrence M. Schoen's biography)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield is named for "Springfield Farm," the land of Alexandria merchant Henry Daingerfield, who sat on the board of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and lent his farm's name to the train stop built there. Accounts differ on the date: the town is often said to date to 1847, while a county historical marker says the railroad reached the farm in 1851.

   SourcesSpringfield Station historical marker (HMDB, Fairfax County History Commission)Transportation Shaped Springfield's Past (Connection Newspapers)

2. 2

   Springfield's first post office operated inside the little railroad station from 1866 to 1868, and the local post office later went by Moor, Garfield (after President James A. Garfield) and Corbett before the Springfield name stuck for good in 1910.

   SourcesSpringfield Station historical marker (HMDB, Fairfax County History Commission)Springfield, Virginia (Wikipedia, citing Fairfax County post office history)

3. 3

   The rebuilt Springfield Interchange, better known as the "Mixing Bowl," contains 50 bridges, 30 ramps and up to 24 lanes at its widest point, and more than 430,000 vehicles pass through it every day.

   SourcesBowl-ed over (The Washington Times, July 19, 2007)Springfield Interchange case study (Federal Highway Administration)

4. 4

   Untangling the Mixing Bowl took eight years, from 1999 to a completion ceremony on July 18, 2007, and the final price of $676 million was nearly double the original $350 million estimate. VDOT's commissioner said the finished interchange holds 80 miles of traffic lanes.

   SourcesEnd of an Era at Interchange (Connection Newspapers)Bowl-ed over (The Washington Times, July 19, 2007)

5. 5

   Modern Springfield began in 1946, when realtor Edward R. Carr drew up a master plan after concluding the area was the last large, easily reached tract of undeveloped land within 12 miles of Washington, D.C.

   SourcesHistory of Springfield (Connection Newspapers)Springfield, Virginia (Wikipedia, citing local history sources)

6. 6

   After World War II, the Crestwood Corporation, founded by three local men who had been Navy engineers, built more than 4,000 homes in Springfield in about ten years, along with planned space for shopping, schools, a pool, a library and churches.

   SourceTransportation Shaped Springfield's Past (Connection Newspapers)

7. 7

   Old Keene Mill Road is named for a saw and grist mill that James Keene built between 1796 and 1800, which served local farms for about sixty years. Two of its mill races still survive.

   SourceKeene's Mill historical marker (HMDB, Fairfax County History Commission)

8. 8

   The Sydenstricker Schoolhouse in the greater Springfield area was the last public one-room schoolhouse built in Fairfax County. It went up in about four months after a 1928 fire, closed in 1939, sold to a community league for $550 in 1954, and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

   SourcesSydenstricker Schoolhouse historical marker (HMDB, Fairfax County History Commission)History (Friends of Sydenstricker Schoolhouse)

9. 9

   Lake Accotink started out in 1918 as the Springfield Dam reservoir for the Army camp that became Fort Belvoir, and it supplied the post's drinking water until 1959. The Fairfax County Park Authority leased the lake in 1960 and bought it in 1965.

   SourcesThe Origins of Lake Accotink marker (HMDB)Transportation Shaped Springfield's Past (Connection Newspapers)

10. 10

    Springfield Mall opened in the 1970s as the second regional shopping center in Northern Virginia, after Tysons Corner, and after a major redevelopment it reopened on October 17, 2014, as Springfield Town Center.

    SourcesSpringfield, Virginia (Wikipedia, citing local press)Springfield Town Center (Wikipedia, citing The Washington Post and NBC4 Washington)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield was established on December 16, 1790, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly at the "Cross Roads" of Hampshire County, on land owned by William and Samuel Abernethy.

   SourcesSpringfield, West Virginia (Wikipedia, citing Hening's Statutes at Large)Some Dates Relating to Hampshire County (Historic Hampshire)

2. 2

   The town takes its name from the Battle of Springfield, fought in New Jersey in 1780, so this village honors a Revolutionary War clash in another Springfield on the same tour.

   SourceSpringfield, West Virginia (Wikipedia, citing Kenny's West Virginia Place Names, 1945)

3. 3

   A young George Washington came through in 1748 with a party surveying Lord Fairfax's land in the South Branch Valley, and a 1926 local history passes down the family story that he asked his hosts for mush and milk for supper.

   SourcesSpringfield, West Virginia (Wikipedia)History of Springfield Community, Mrs. F. H. Heiskel, 1926 (Historic Hampshire)

4. 4

   Springfield has two places on the National Register of Historic Places, one of them the circa 1855 Greek Revival "Brick House" at 12 Market Street built by farmer John W. Shouse and listed on January 2, 2013.

   SourcesNational Register Listing: Springfield Brick House (Frenchwood) (Aurora LLC)NRHP listings in Hampshire County, West Virginia (Wikipedia)

5. 5

   That brick house went by plain "Brick House" for about 150 years until owners John and Julie Frazer, who began restoring it in 1998, named it Frenchwood after the Charles M. French family who lived there around 1900.

   SourceNational Register Listing: Springfield Brick House (Frenchwood) (Aurora LLC)

6. 6

   The area's other National Register site, Washington Bottom Farm on WV 28 above the South Branch, centers on a three story 1835 Greek Revival house with a cupola and widow's walk, built for George William Washington, a member of the extended family of the first president.

   SourcesWashington Bottom Farm (Wikipedia)The George W. Washington House (Historic Hampshire)

7. 7

   Springfield's Methodist church was built in 1851, and a 1926 community history claims it was the first church built by the Southern Methodist Conference.

   SourcesSome Dates Relating to Hampshire County (Historic Hampshire)History of Springfield Community, Mrs. F. H. Heiskel, 1926 (Historic Hampshire)

8. 8

   The railroad took its time: grading started in 1872, the track was ready in 1884, and the station opened in 1885, ending the two day wagon haul that had carried freight to Green Spring.

   SourceHistory of Springfield Community, Mrs. F. H. Heiskel, 1926 (Historic Hampshire)

9. 9

   Just outside town, about 1,700 acres of former timber company land once run as the Springfield Wildlife Management Area were bought by the Potomac Conservancy in May 2015, with plans to hand the land to the state for public recreation.

   SourceSpringfield Wildlife Management Area (Wikipedia, citing WVDNR and Potomac Conservancy)

10. 10

    Springfield sits in Hampshire County, West Virginia's oldest county, created in 1754; Lord Fairfax reportedly named it because he thought the local hogs rivaled those of Hampshire, England.

    SourceHampshire County (e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   According to an 1852 town history, Springfield got its name when Mrs. Simon Kenton, wife of the famous frontiersman, suggested it to founder James Demint because of all the springs around the town site.

   SourceA Brief Sketch of Springfield, 1852 (RootsWeb transcription)

2. 2

   The National Road reached Springfield in 1838, then stalled for about 10 years while Congress argued over the route west. That earned the city the nickname "the end of the pike."

   SourceHistoric National Road marker (HMdb)

3. 3

   4-H started in Springfield. The first meeting of A.B. Graham's Boys and Girls Agricultural Experiment Club, the nation's first farm club for young people, took place in the Clark County Courthouse basement on January 15, 1902.

   SourceThe Birthplace of 4-H marker (HMdb)

4. 4

   Springfield was once the "City of Roses." By 1919 it had 33 greenhouses and grew more roses than any other city in the world, and in one peak year it shipped 24 million plants by mail, 9.5 million of them roses.

   SourceSpringfield Historical Facts (OSU Extension, Clark County)

5. 5

   A 1928 city report ranked Springfield first in the world in ten manufactured products, including chicken incubators, brooders and commercial thermometers.

   SourceSpringfield Historical Facts (OSU Extension, Clark County)

6. 6

   By 1880, William Whiteley's Champion farm machinery works outproduced every Chicago factory combined. His East Street plant was said to be the second-largest industrial building under one roof in the world, trailing only Krupp in Prussia.

   SourceSpringfield Historical Facts (OSU Extension, Clark County)

7. 7

   The Wright brothers' famous "flying machine" patent, secured in 1906, was the work of Springfield patent attorney Harry Toulmin Sr., who practiced in the Bushnell Building downtown. A bronze statue of him now stands across the street.

   SourceH. A. "Harry" Toulmin Sr. marker (HMdb)

8. 8

   The Westcott House, designed in 1906 for local car maker Burton Westcott, is Frank Lloyd Wright's only Prairie-style home in Ohio. It was restored between 2000 and 2005 and is open for tours.

   SourceOrpha and Burton J. Westcott House (Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)

9. 9

   After losing his factory job in the Great Depression, Ben Hartman began building a backyard world of stone that grew into the Hartman Rock Garden. He reportedly said its centerpiece Tree of Life alone used about 20,000 stones.

   SourceHartman Rock Garden: A Hidden Gem in Springfield (WYSO)

10. 10

    The tire brand Kelly-Springfield began in 1894 as the Rubber Tire Wheel Company in Springfield. It was co-founded by Edwin Kelly and Arthur Grant, a superintendent at the local Tricycle Manufacturing Company who had sketched a solid rubber carriage tire.

    SourceThe Kelly-Springfield Tire Company History (Funding Universe)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield is an enclave, a 3.7-square-mile city completely surrounded by Battle Creek.

   SourceSpringfield, Michigan (Wikipedia, citing U.S. Census gazetteer)

2. 2

   The land was split into lots in 1904 while it was still part of Battle Creek Township, and it was chartered as an independent city in June 1952.

   SourceBattle Creek and Springfield Information, Calhoun County MIGenWeb

3. 3

   Local history suggests the name may have been a tribute to cereal maker C. W. Post, who came to Battle Creek from Springfield, Illinois. Post was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1854.

   SourcesBattle Creek and Springfield Information, Calhoun County MIGenWebC. W. Post, Calhoun County MIGenWeb

4. 4

   A single factory building beside the railroad tracks in Springfield housed a pipe organ company, Lyon and Healy (1906), the Corl Piano company (1908), and Castle Lamp Works (1912) before Dr. John Harvey Kellogg moved his health food company in.

   SourceKellogg Food Company postcard record, Willard Library

5. 5

   Dr. Kellogg's company was renamed the Battle Creek Food Company in 1921 after legal disputes with his brother, W. K. Kellogg, who ran the rival corn flake company.

   SourceKellogg Food Company postcard record, Willard Library

6. 6

   The Roosevelt Community House on Evergreen Road was dedicated on January 6, 1919, and named for Theodore Roosevelt, who died that same day. It was built as an officers' club and hospitality station beside Camp Custer.

   SourcesRoosevelt American Legion Hospital (Wikipedia, citing the NRHP nomination)Roosevelt Community House, NPS NPGallery

7. 7

   Fitness showman Bernarr Macfadden bought the Roosevelt Community House for a health resort before the state took it back in 1921 and leased it to the American Legion as a veterans' tuberculosis hospital. The building was demolished in 2016.

   SourcesRoosevelt American Legion Hospital (Wikipedia, citing the NRHP nomination)International Health Resort postcard record, Willard Library

8. 8

   The 18-hole disc golf course at Begg Park opened in 2005 and hosted the Disc Golf World Championships just three years later, in 2008.

   SourcesEnjoying the Area, City of SpringfieldBegg Park, UDisc

9. 9

   Upton Park, formally named John F. Kennedy Park, has a one-acre pond used for fishing and model boat racing.

   SourceSpringfield, Michigan (Wikipedia, citing City of Springfield parks page)

10. 10

    Springfield is where most of the Battle Creek area's 1,100-plus Burmese residents live, and it is home to the Burma Center on North 21st Street.

    SourceBurmese Americans find a home in Battle Creek, Second Wave Media

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield Township was established in 1835 and covers about 33.4 square miles, making it one of 21 townships in LaPorte County. Its 2020 population was 3,770.

   SourceSpringfield Township, LaPorte County, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing the U.S. Census Bureau and the 1880 History of La Porte County, p. 859)

2. 2

   The township's village of Springville took its name from a large spring that once flowed nearby. The area was first settled in 1831, surveyed in 1833, and its town plat was filed on August 19, 1835.

   SourceSpringville, LaPorte County, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing Packard's 1876 History of La Porte County)

3. 3

   By the mid 1800s, little Springville had a mill, a sawmill, a tannery, a shoemaker, a general store, a schoolhouse, and Baptist and Methodist congregations. Its post office ran from 1835 to 1863.

   SourceSpringville, LaPorte County, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing Packard 1876)

4. 4

   In the 1840s, Springville residents hoped their village would become the county seat. The railroad went through LaPorte instead, and that dream faded.

   SourceSpringville, LaPorte County, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing Daniels 1903 and Packard 1876)

5. 5

   Springville sat on the historic Michigan Road, which ran from the Ohio River at Madison to Michigan City. The 100 foot wide route was built on land granted in an October 16, 1826 treaty with the Potawatomi, and the state began building it in 1832.

   SourcesMichigan Road (Wikipedia)Michigan Road state historical marker, Indiana Historical Bureau

6. 6

   The Michigan Road became an Indiana State Byway in 2011. Near Springville, its original path survives as Wilhelm Road and Springville Road, and the Springville Free Methodist Church, built in 1891, still stands where State Road 39 crosses.

   SourcesMichigan Road (Wikipedia, citing the 2011 INDOT order)The Michigan Road in La Porte County (Jim Grey)

7. 7

   Before it was a beach town, part of the township's lakeshore was Corymbo, a logging settlement for lumbermen and Michigan Central railroad workers. Corymbo got a post office in 1861, but it was gone by 1880.

   SourceMichiana Shores, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing Stodola 2003 and Chapman 1880, p. 860)

8. 8

   Michiana Shores, the township's incorporated town on Lake Michigan, began in the 1930s as a log cabin town for vacationers, built by developers Orphie Gotto and Clarence Mathias. Many early residents were Chicago schoolteachers, and the town incorporated in 1947.

   SourceMichiana Shores, Indiana (Wikipedia, citing Stodola, Michigan City Beach Communities, 2003)

9. 9

   The roughly 600 acres the Long Beach Company sold to developers became a single log cabin resort that grew into two towns in two states: Michiana Shores, Indiana and Michiana, Michigan. The neighbors still share and jointly maintain Beach Stop 37, which sits mostly in Michigan.

   SourcesBeach Stop 37, Town of Michiana ShoresMichiana, Michigan (Wikipedia)

10. 10

    Just outside Springville, the 45 acre Springfield Fen Nature Preserve protects a rare prairie fen, where springs at the base of a high ridge flow year round. It shelters big bluestem, Indian grass, and several plants considered rare or endangered in Indiana.

    SourceSpringfield Fen Nature Preserve, Indiana DNR Division of Nature Preserves

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   The town was first named Calhoun, after John C. Calhoun, and took the name Springfield in 1832 from nearby Spring Creek.

   SourceSpringfield, Encyclopaedia Britannica

2. 2

   The horseshoe sandwich was created in 1928 at the Leland Hotel. The fries stand for the nails and the platter for the hot anvil, and a plaque went up in 2024 because tourists kept asking where it started.

   SourceA plaque marks the birth of the horseshoe, Northern Public Radio

3. 3

   Springfield spells it "chilli," with two L's. The Dew Chilli Parlor, opened in 1909, appears to be the first restaurant to use that spelling.

   SourceChili ('chilli') in Springfield, Sangamon County History

4. 4

   The Cozy Dog, a corn dog on a stick, debuted on June 16, 1946, at the Lake Springfield Beach House. Inventor Ed Waldmire first called it the "crusty cur" until his wife objected.

   SourceCozy Dog Drive-In, Sangamon County History

5. 5

   The Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop on Pasfield Street claims the first drive-up window in the country. An early owner recalled sitting in the shop for 14 hours and taking in just $1.45.

   SourceMaid-Rite Sandwich Shop, Sangamon County History

6. 6

   Before he invented Grape-Nuts, C. W. Post was a Springfield native who designed farm machinery and patented odd inventions like "scientific suspenders." His daughter, heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, was born in the family's Black Avenue home in 1887.

   SourceC.W. Post, creator of the breakfast cereal business, Sangamon County History

7. 7

   In 1898 and 1899 the Old State Capitol was jacked up 11 feet so a new floor could be added underneath it. In 1966 to 1969 the state took it apart stone by stone and rebuilt it to look as it did in 1860.

   SourceOld State Capitol State Historic Site (Wikipedia, citing NPS nomination and Illinois Historic Preservation Agency)

8. 8

   A 2007 Illinois House resolution listed real parallels with the Simpsons' Springfield, including a newspaper called the Springfield Shopper, a housing development formerly named Evergreen Terrace, and a bartender named Moe.

   SourceHouse Resolution 490, 95th Illinois General Assembly

9. 9

   In the 2007 online vote to host The Simpsons Movie premiere, Springfield finished a close second to Springfield, Vermont, 15,367 votes to 14,634. Its pitch video highlighted the city's own power plant and donut factory.

   SourcesSpringfield, Ill., loses out on premiere, Daily IlliniSpringfields competing to host Simpsons premiere, St. Louis Public Radio

10. 10

    The nine Sangamon County lawmakers who pushed to move the capital from Vandalia were nicknamed the "Long Nine" for their combined height of about 54 feet. Springfield won the capital vote on the fourth ballot in 1837.

    SourceLong Nine left colorful though mixed legacy in Lincoln lore, Shaw Local

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield got its name from the many large springs in the area, according to the 1882 Andreas history of Nebraska.

   SourceAndreas' History of the State of Nebraska: Sarpy County, Part 5

2. 2

   Springfield has a sibling ghost town. Capt. James Spearman founded Sarpy Center in 1874 hoping to win the county seat, and after Papillion won the 1875 election, most of its residents eventually moved southwest to Springfield.

   SourceGhost Towns of Sarpy County

3. 3

   The Missouri Pacific Railway created the town, which was platted in November 1881 on 40 acres owned by Spearman, who deeded half the land to the railroad for its depot.

   SourceAndreas' History of the State of Nebraska: Sarpy County, Part 5

4. 4

   Springfield started partly as a moving day: in November and December 1881, nine buildings were hauled over from Sarpy Center, including the Nichols House hotel, which kept running under the same management.

   SourceAndreas' History of the State of Nebraska: Sarpy County, Part 5

5. 5

   Within about a year of its founding, the brand-new town already had three drug stores, two harness shops, two implement warehouses, a hotel, a livery stable and a single saloon.

   SourceAndreas' History of the State of Nebraska: Sarpy County, Part 5

6. 6

   The Springfield Community Center was built from 1938 to 1940 as a WPA project using locally quarried sandstone, which gave work to area men during the Depression.

   SourceLiving New Deal: Community Center, Springfield NE

7. 7

   Lady Gaga shot part of her "Yoü and I" music video in July 2011 in a Springfield soybean field owned by farmer Richard Hansen, after her production staff called and asked to borrow it.

   SourceKLKN: Springfield farmer plays host to Lady Gaga

8. 8

   The MoPac Trail, named for the Missouri Pacific railroad that founded the town, now carries walkers, cyclists and horseback riders from Springfield south to the Platte River.

   SourceNebraska Traveler Guide: Springfield

9. 9

   Springfield is home to the Sarpy County Fair, where the lineup includes mutton bustin', tractor pulls and a pedal pull.

   SourcesNebraska Traveler Guide: SpringfieldKMTV 3 News Now: Sarpy County Fair draws families to Springfield

10. 10

    Soaring Wings Vineyard in Springfield takes its name from owner Jim Shaw's career as a military and commercial pilot, and the winery added beer brewing in 2011.

    SourceESPN Sioux Falls: My Visit to Soaring Wings Vineyard and Brewery

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield was named for the numerous natural springs in the area, according to the 1940 Federal Writers' Project guide to South Dakota place names.

   SourceSpringfield, South Dakota (Wikipedia, citing Federal Writers' Project, South Dakota Place-Names, 1940)

2. 2

   The town was founded in 1870 on chalkstone bluffs above the Missouri River, a type of bluff found only along the Missouri in South Dakota, at Dover in England, and a few other places.

   SourceSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River Town

3. 3

   Early settlers tried building with the local chalkstone, but it was too porous to catch on, and today a local sculptor carves it into fish by salvaging stone from old buildings.

   SourceSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River Town

4. 4

   Town leaders once campaigned for both the state university and the state prison and lost both, to Vermillion and Sioux Falls. They did land a teachers college in 1881.

   SourceSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River Town

5. 5

   The college opened in 1881, before South Dakota was a state, with 32 students whose average age was 17, and it ran for 103 years under names including Southern State College and the University of South Dakota at Springfield.

   SourcesLost Colleges: Southern State CollegeSDPB Dakota Life: Greetings from Springfield

6. 6

   The college closed in 1984 and its campus became a state prison that same year, so after a century of chasing the prison, Springfield finally got one in its old classrooms.

   SourcesSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River TownLost Colleges: Southern State College

7. 7

   Springfield became a lake town without moving. Gavins Point Dam, built downriver in the 1950s, created Lewis and Clark Lake at its doorstep, and the population rose past 1,000 in the 1960s.

   SourceSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River Town

8. 8

   The Springfield Golf Club was founded in 1957 by 40 neighbors, and its nine holes on the bluffs above Lewis and Clark Lake were modeled after Pebble Beach.

   SourceSDPB Dakota Life: Greetings from Springfield

9. 9

   Since 2002, local body shop owner Greg Stockholm has been building a 72-foot, roughly 30-ton aluminum sailboat in downtown Springfield, and he sold his motorcycle, cars and an airplane to fund his plan to sail it around the world.

   SourcesSDPB Dakota Life: Greetings from SpringfieldSouth Dakota Magazine: An Original River Town

10. 10

    Springfield native Maria Pearson (Yankton Sioux, born 1932) pushed Iowa to pass the first U.S. law protecting Native American burial remains and helped spark the federal NAGPRA repatriation law.

    SourcesIowa State University: Maria PearsonIndianz: Famous South Dakotans, Maria Pearson

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield sits on Idaho State Highway 39 about 12.5 miles northeast of Aberdeen, at an elevation of roughly 4,429 feet, and has its own post office with ZIP code 83277.

   SourceSpringfield, Idaho (Wikipedia, citing USGS GNIS)

2. 2

   The Springfield Fish Hatchery, finished in 2013 at a cost of $13.5 million, was paid for by the Bonneville Power Administration to help offset the impact of hydropower dams on salmon, and about 150 state, federal, and tribal officials turned out for its September 2013 dedication.

   SourcesLooking Back: 2013 at Idaho Fish and GameNew Springfield Hatchery Dedicated (Idaho Fish and Game)

3. 3

   The hatchery is built to raise up to 1 million juvenile Snake River sockeye salmon a year, enough to allow up to a five-fold increase in the capacity of Idaho's sockeye recovery program.

   SourcesSpringfield Hatchery (Idaho Fish and Game)New hatchery will boost production of Snake River sockeye (Idaho Fish and Game)

4. 4

   The sockeye raised near Springfield belong to the southernmost run of their species, which spawns more than 900 miles from the ocean and more than 6,000 feet above sea level in the Sawtooth Basin of central Idaho.

   SourceNew hatchery will boost production of Snake River sockeye (Idaho Fish and Game)

5. 5

   The run the hatchery supports nearly vanished: in 1992 a single male sockeye nicknamed "Lonesome Larry" was the only adult to make it back to Redfish Lake, and returns to the Sawtooth Basin hit zero in 1995 and 1997 before climbing to 1,336 fish in 2010.

   SourcesIdaho sockeye salmon back from the brink (Spokane Public Radio)New hatchery will boost production of Snake River sockeye (Idaho Fish and Game)

6. 6

   Before it raised endangered salmon, the hatchery property was a trout farm whose fish were processed into meals for a weight-loss business; the Yanke family donated the land to the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation in 2005.

   SourceBack from the Brink (IDAHO magazine)

7. 7

   The area off Highway 39 near Springfield is rich in springs, and the hatchery draws its water from six wells that deliver it at about 52 degrees Fahrenheit, then runs it through a 30-foot aeration tower to add oxygen.

   SourceBack from the Brink (IDAHO magazine)

8. 8

   Springfield Lake was created in 1940 when a dam impounded Danielson Creek, and the 52-acre lake and its surroundings were made a bird sanctuary in 1976.

   SourceSpringfield Lake (Idaho Fish and Game Fishing Planner)

9. 9

   Springfield Reservoir is managed as a trophy trout water: anglers may keep only 2 trout, none under 20 inches, with no bait allowed and barbless hooks required.

   SourceSpringfield Lake (Idaho Fish and Game Fishing Planner)

10. 10

    Nearby American Falls Reservoir holds about 1.67 million acre-feet of water behind a dam whose crest stretches 5,277 feet; the original 1927 dam was replaced by a new one completed in 1978.

    SourceAmerican Falls Dam (Bureau of Reclamation)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   In a 2012 Smithsonian magazine interview, Matt Groening said, "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon," then later told TV Guide, "I never said Springfield was in Oregon." So the show is named for the Oregon town, though Groening has denied saying it is set there.

   SourcePortland Monthly: Springfield, Home of the Simpsons

2. 2

   Groening's real inspiration was "Father Knows Best," which was set in a town called Springfield that young Groening imagined was right next to his hometown of Portland.

   SourcePortland Monthly: Springfield, Home of the Simpsons

3. 3

   A signed note from Groening reading "Yo to Springfield, Oregon, the real Springfield!" hangs in the city's offices at 225 5th Street. It was a gift in 2007, the same year Springfield, Vermont won the national contest to host The Simpsons Movie premiere.

   SourcesEugene, Cascades and Coast: The Simpsons Tour of SpringfieldKLCC: Springfield's Simpsons mural turns 10

4. 4

   Downtown's Springfield Horseman statue, designed by University of Oregon student Charles Forrester in 1960, was painted Simpsons yellow by the city in 2007 for the movie premiere contest.

   SourceEugene, Cascades and Coast: The Simpsons Tour of Springfield

5. 5

   The city paid for its 15-by-30-foot Simpsons mural with hotel room tax money, and Groening joked he planned "to sneak up in the middle of the night and sign the mural." Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa, attended the 2014 unveiling.

   SourcesNBC: Simpsons Mural Coming to the Real SpringfieldKLCC: Springfield's Simpsons mural turns 10

6. 6

   Hayden Bridge was built in 1882 for the first transcontinental railroad over Utah's Bear River, then dismantled and rebuilt over the McKenzie River at Springfield in 1901 for a Southern Pacific logging spur.

   SourcesLibrary of Congress, HAER: Hayden BridgeHayden Bridge (Wikipedia, citing ODOT's Historic Bridge Field Guide)

7. 7

   Dorris Ranch, started in 1892, is recognized as the first commercial filbert (hazelnut) orchard in the United States, and more than half of the country's commercial filbert trees came from its nursery stock.

   SourceWillamalane Park and Recreation District: Dorris Ranch

8. 8

   Nancy's Yogurt began at the Springfield Creamery, which Chuck and Sue Kesey leased in 1960 for $150 a month. The yogurt is named for bookkeeper Nancy Van Brasch Hamren after a co-op asked for "more of that Nancy's yogurt."

   SourceOregon Encyclopedia: Springfield Creamery

9. 9

   When the creamery was struggling in 1972, the Grateful Dead played a benefit near Eugene that drew over 20,000 people and kept it open, with Nancy's Honey Yogurt labels used as tickets. Before he was a star, Huey Lewis ran a delivery service that trucked Nancy's Yogurt to the Bay Area.

   SourceOregon Encyclopedia: Springfield Creamery

10. 10

    Ken Kesey, author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," moved to Springfield at age 10 and graduated from Springfield High School in 1953, where he was a champion wrestler.

    SourceKen Kesey (Wikipedia, citing The Oregonian)

Showing 3 of 10 facts

1. 1

   Springfield got its name from the abundant springs gushing out of limestone boulders at the site, which made it a natural washing station for gold seekers.

   SourcesCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Springfield (CHL No. 432)California Historical Landmarks: CHL 432 Springfield

2. 2

   In the town's heyday, as many as 150 miners' carts could be seen on the road to Springfield, hauling gold-bearing dirt to be washed in its springs.

   SourcesCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Springfield (CHL No. 432)NoeHill: California Historical Landmark No. 432, Springfield

3. 3

   Springfield was laid out around a central plaza lined with stores, shops, and a hotel, and it once had about 2,000 residents.

   SourcesCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Springfield (CHL No. 432)California Historical Landmarks: CHL 432 Springfield

4. 4

   The town is believed to have been founded by Doña Josefa Valmesada, a wealthy Mexican woman who, according to the state landmark text, aided Americans during the war with Mexico.

   SourcesCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Springfield (CHL No. 432)California Historical Landmarks: CHL 432 Springfield

5. 5

   Springfield's bronze marker was placed on July 25, 1948, by the state's Historic Landmarks Committee and Columbia Parlor No. 258 of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and the site was registered as a California Historical Landmark on March 16, 1949.

   SourcesNoeHill: California Historical Landmark No. 432, SpringfieldCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Springfield (CHL No. 432)

6. 6

   Springfield was one of the camps of the Columbia mining district, alongside colorfully named neighbors Yankee Hill, Sawmill Flat, Squabbletown, and Brown's Flat, all sitting on limestone riddled with deep potholes that trapped very rich gold gravel.

   SourceOakland Museum of California: Gold Rush Mining Districts, Columbia

7. 7

   The Columbia district that included Springfield produced several gold masses weighing more than 300 ounces, and one weighing more than 50 pounds.

   SourceOakland Museum of California: Gold Rush Mining Districts, Columbia

8. 8

   Gold was found at neighboring Columbia, about a mile northeast of Springfield, on March 27, 1850, and the camp first known as Hildreth's Diggings was renamed Columbia just a month later, on April 29, 1850.

   SourcesCalifornia State Parks: Columbia State Historic Park brochureCalifornia State Parks: Governor Earl Warren signs bill making Columbia a State Historic Park

9. 9

   California State Parks estimates that as much as $150 million in gold was mined around Columbia between 1850 and the early 1900s, with diggings at times averaging $100,000 or more per week; the state landmark listing gives a lower estimate of $87 million.

   SourcesCalifornia State Parks: Columbia State Historic Park brochureCalifornia Office of Historic Preservation: Columbia (CHL No. 123)

10. 10

    On July 15, 1945, Governor Earl Warren moved his office to Columbia for one day to sign the bill creating Columbia State Historic Park next door to Springfield, which today holds the largest collection of Gold Rush era brick buildings in California.

    SourcesCalifornia State Parks: Governor Earl Warren signs bill making Columbia a State Historic ParkCalifornia State Parks: Columbia State Historic Park brochure

Showing 3 of 10 facts