Springfield was founded in 1636 by William Pynchon, the then assistant treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town was named after the city in England where he was born. The location on the floodplains of the Connecticut River included soil suitable for farming. Long, narrow plots of farmland were created, extending out from the river. Over time, parts of the settlement were sectioned off to form neighboring towns, including West Springfield, MassachusettsWest Springfield. Springfield remained a small, working town when in 1675, during King Philip's War, its security was threatened. The leader of the Wampanoag Indian tribe, Wamsutta, died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Soon thereafter, the war began. Wamsutta's brother and successor, Metacomet, known as Philip to the colonists, started war with the colony to avenge his brother's death; the tribe attacked Springfield and destroyed more than half the town. During the 1770s, George Washington selected Springfield as the site of the Springfield ArmoryNational Armory. By the 1780s the Arsenal was a major ammunition and weapons depot. In 1787 poor farmers from western Massachusetts, led by Daniel Shays, tried to seize the arms at Springfield. This came to be known as Shays' Rebellion, and was a key event leading to the Federal constitutional convention (political meeting)Constitutional Convention. Those involved in the rebellion planned to use the weapons to force the closure of the Commonwealth and county courts, which were seizing their lands for debt. The term Springfield Rifle may refer to any sort of arms produced by the Springfield Armory for the United States armed forces. In 1845, the Wason Manufacturing Company, one of the earliest makers of railway passenger coach equipment in the United States, was established in Springfield. In 1852, Smith and Wesson, America's largest producer of handguns, was founded in Springfield. The company remains headquartered there. Also in 1852, Massachusetts incorporated Springfield as a city. In 1893, two Springfielders named Charles DuryeaCharles and Frank Duryea built the first ever gasoline powered commercial automobilecar in Springfield. The Duryea Motor Wagon CompanyDuryea Motor Wagon was put on the streets of Springfield on September 20 1893. This part of the city was later annexed by Chicopee, Massachusetts. Springfield is known as the City of Homes, a nickname given to it in the late 19th century due to its many Victorian architectureVictorian mansions, as well as multitudes of single-family houses inhabited by workers. The city of Springfield is most commonly known as the birthplace of basketball. In 1891, James Naismith, a physical education teacher in Springfield, invented the sport at the Springfield YMCA, now Springfield College, to fill the gap between the football and baseball seasons. The sport quickly became popular worldwide. On February 17, 1968, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was opened on the Springfield College campus which was replaced by a larger facility on the east bank of the Connecticut river in 1985. In 2002 a newer facility for the Hall of Fame opened next to the existing site. Shaped like a basketball and illuminated at night, it has become an interesting addition to the cityscape. In 1901, the Indian (motorcycle)Indian Manufacturing Company, America's first motorcycle brand, was founded by George M. Hendee and C. Oscar Hedstrom in Springfield -- two years before Harley-DavidsonHarley Davidson Motor Company. Springfield is the birthplace of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, drug pioneer Timothy Leary, and famous actor Kurt Russell, among an eclectic group of other notables. More recent famous Springfielders include the National Basketball Association's Travis Best, and the musical bands Staind and The Acacia Strain. In 1936, Springfield suffered its most devastating natural disaster. The Connecticut River flooded, reaching record heights, inundating the South End and the North End (before the flood, houses — some of Springfield's finest — stood where Interstate 91 now runs). Damages were estimated at United States dollar$200,000,000 in 1936 dollars. This flood occurred at the height of the Great Depression; Western Massachusetts and Springfield had already suffered greatly. The water damage was repaired after WPA money was made available to Springfield. However, large riverfront portions of the North and South Ends no longer exist. For nearly six decades, Springfield has been slumping economically, due largely to a decline in manufacturing. Many major companies that maintained factories in the city closed their facilities, moving to the suburbs or out of New England all together. In 1968, the Springfield Armory was closed by the Pentagon. Another large manufacturer, American Bosch, shuttered its doors in 1986. In 2005, this exodus continued, with the closure of the Danaher Tool forge, maker of Craftsman (tools)Craftsman tools. Many Springfield residents moved to the suburbs to escape inner-city crime and urban decay. Because manufacturing had been a large part of Springfield's economy, it proved difficult to fill the void with a service-based economy, more so than in similar cities with more diversified economies. Local department stores, Forbes & Wallace and Steigers, shuttered in 1974 and 1994, respectively. Johnsons Bookstore closed a few years later, though this was due less to a decline in retail downtown than competition from chain bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble. Many banks headquartered in Springfield closed or merged with larger banks, (in fact, all but Hampden Bank, which remains the only Springfield-based bank.) A downtown revitalization project known as Baystate West, was completed in 1973, but over the years it too became empty. The construction contributed to Springfield's somewhat modern 1970s-era skyline. The Eastfield Mall, built on Springfield's outskirts in 1969, proved more successful. However, it suffered a decline after the Holyoke Mall was opened in the 1980s. Over the past five years, the mall has rebounded; consequently, Springfield's largest retail area is now on Boston Road, on the northeastern edge of the city, rather than downtown. The Quadrangle, an extraordinary grouping of museums and sculpture gardens, remains a testament to the city's nineteenth-century grandeur. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield%2C_Massachusetts