ZIP Code 01104

Springfield was founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as "Agawam Plantation" under the administration of the Connecticut Colony. In the late 1700s, during the American Revolution, Springfield was designated by George Washington as the site of the Springfield Armory because of its central location. The city would also play a pivotal role in the Civil War, as a stop on the Underground Railroad and home of abolitionist John Brown. Springfield has several nicknames, including "The City of Firsts", due to the many innovations developed there, such as the first American dictionary, the first gas-powered automobile, and the first machining lathe for interchangeable parts. Basketball was invented in Springfield in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith. The HartfordSpringfield region is known as the Knowledge Corridor because it hosts over 160,000 university students and over 32 universities and liberal arts colleges. It is the second-highest concentration of higher-learning institutions in the United States. Springfield is home to Springfield College, Western New England University, American International College, and Springfield Technical Community College, among other higher educational institutions. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the. Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and. the eastern Mill River.

History

Springfield was founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as "Agawam Plantation" under the administration of the Connecticut Colony. During its early existence, Springfield flourished both as an agricultural settlement and as a trading post, although its prosperity waned dramatically during (and after) King Philip's War in 1675. In 1777, Springfield's location at numerous crossroads led George Washington and Henry Knox to establish the United States' National Armory at Springfield, which produced the first American musket in 1794, and later the famous Springfield rifle. Springfield would play major roles in machine production, initially driven by the arms industry of the Armory, as well as from private companies such as Smith & Wesson, established by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson. During the first half of the 20th century Springfield also produced brass goods, chemicals, clothing and knit goods, paper goods, watches, boilers, engines, manufacturing machinery, silverware, jewelry, skates, carriages, buttons, needles, toys, and printed books and magazines. In the early 21st century, Springfield saw long-term revitalization projects, including the $1 billion New Haven-Springfield intercity rail; a $1billion MGM casino; and large projects for the New Haven and New Haven rail lines. The city is located at the nexus of trade routes to Boston, Albany, New York City, and Montreal, and with some of the northeastern U.S.' most fertile soil.

Geography

Once nicknamed "The City in a Forest", Springfield features over 4.0 square miles (10.4 km²) of urban parkland, 12% of its total land area. The city sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River, near its confluence with two major tributary riversthe western Westfield River, which flows into the Connecticut opposite Springfield's South End Bridge, and the eastern Chicopee River. The City of Springfield also owns the Springfield Country Club, located in the autonomous city of West Springfield, which separated from Springfield in 1774. Springfield shares borders with other well-heeled suburbs such as East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Ludlow and the de-industrializing city of Chicopees. The small cities of Agawam and West Springfield lie less than a mile (1.6 km) from Springfield's Metro Center. In terms of demographics, the city is primarily African-American, primarily from the Boston Post Road system, named for its proximity to the original American Post Road. Springfield is divided into 17 distinct neighborhoods; they are: Bay Bay, Blunt Park, Eastfield Mall, Westfield, East Springfield, and Westfield Center. Springfield has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa) with four distinct seasons and precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year. Temperatures below 0 °F (18 °C) can occur each year, though the area does not experience the high snowfall amounts and blustery wind averages of nearby cities such as Worcester and Albany, New York.

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, there were 61,706 housing units in Springfield, of which 56,752 were occupied. In terms of race and ethnicity, Springfield is 51.8% White, 22.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian. 73.0% of the population were over 18 years old, and 10.9% were over 65 years old; the median age was 32.2 years. 73,232 Springfielders live in owner-occupied units, versus 74,111 in rental units. In 2010, Springfield ranked 35th in the United States' City Crime Rankingsits second-lowest ranking in recent years. Springfield's 2010 crime rating of 142 is down approximately 50% from its heights in the late 1990s and 2000s. By another measure, crime and population data collected by the FBI, and indexed by NeighborhoodScout showed between 2010 and 2018 the violent crime rate for Springfield decreased by approximately 52.5%, whereas the property crime rate declined by 54%. Both rates remain more than twice their respective state averages, as of 2018. The Urban Land Institute stated in 2010 that "the perception of crime [in Springfield] appears to be worse than the reality". The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Springfield has a population of 153,060, of whom 72,573 (47.4%) were male and 80,487 (52.6%) were female. The median age for males was 30.2years and 34.1 years for females.

Economy

Springfield is the economic center of Western Massachusetts. It features the Pioneer Valley's largest concentration of retail, manufacturing, entertainment, banking, legal, and medical groups. It is home to the world's largest producer of handguns, Smith & Wesson, founded in 1852. It also serves as the headquarters of the professional American Hockey League, the NHL's minor league, Peter Pan Bus, and Big Y Supermarkets, among other businesses. Springfield is considered to have one of America's top emerging multi-cultural marketsthe city features a 33% Latino population with buying power that has increased over 295% from 1990 to 2006. In 2010, the median household income was $35,236. Median income for the family was $51,110. About 21.3% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.0% of those under age 18 and 17.5% ofThose age 65 or over. Springfield ranks as the 24th most important high-tech center in the United States with approximately 14,000 high- tech jobs. The city has been home to a number of companies that were household names for nearly four centuries, including Forbes, Wall & Wall, and Hampden Bank. The following companies maintain their headquarters in Springfield: MassMutual Financial Group, The American hockey League, and Peter Pan Lines. The American Hockeyleague is the primary development league for the NHL. Big Y operates more than 50 supermarkets throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. The company maintains its corporate headquarters on Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield.

Arts and culture

Springfield is home to five distinct museums at the Quadrangle, along with the ornate Springfield City Library. The city is also home to a number of cuisines not found elsewhere in the region, including Cajun restaurant Chef Wayne's Big Mamou, Lebanese restaurant Nadim's Downtown, local chain Puerto Rican Bakery, and a host of other Greek, Jamaican, Mexican, and Vietnamese venues. Springfield is the birthplace of The Geisel and the Lyman Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield, a multi-faceted museum about the city's Indian and Native American history. Springfield holds the Guinness World Record for the largest number of pancakes served at a single pancake breakfast. Springfield has been home to the U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, a week of events culminating in the enshrinment of new members. Springfield also hosts the World's Largest Pancake Breakfast, and the largest Jewish Film Festival in the United States. Springfield was the site of the first American-made planetarium, designed and built (1937) by Frank Korkosz; the Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden; and the original casting of Augustus Saint Gaudens's most famous sculpture, Puritan. The Springfield Science Museum features a life-size Tyrannosaurus, an aquarium and the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum. Springfield's Indian Orchard neighborhood is the setting for the RMS Titanic's Museum of Indian History.

Sports

Springfield has a rich sporting history. The city is home to the American Hockey League's headquarters. It is also the home of the NCAA Division II basketball championships. It has had professional baseball teams in the past. It also has a roller derby team, the Pair O' Dice City Roller Derby, which uses their games as fundraisers for groups such as Dakin Animal Shelter and the Shriners. The Western Mass Zombies are a minor league basketball team participating in the East Coast Basketball League. In 2021 they will be named ECBL Mid-Atlantic Champions. The Springfield Giants of the Single- and Double-A Eastern League played between 1957 and 1965. The team was quite successful, winning consecutive championships in 1959, 1960 and 1961, by startling coincidence the same seasons in which the Springfield Indians won three straight Calder Cup championships in hockey. For many years, the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic has been the semi-official start to the college basketball season. The New England Blizzard of the ABL played its first game in Springfield, and several minor pro men's and women's teams have called the city home, including the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League (the league's inaugural champion in 1985) The Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League began play in 2009 at the MassMutual Center. Prior to the 2014-2015 season, the Armor was the exclusive affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. The Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League play their games in nearby Holyoke, but house their offices at 100 Congress Street in Springfield.

Parks and recreation

In 2010, Springfield was cited as the fourth "Greenest City" in the United Statest. The recognition noted Springfield's numerous parks, the purity of its drinking water, its regional recycling center, and organizations like ReStore Home Improvement Center, which salvages building materials. Springfield features over 2,400 acres (10 km²) of parkland distributed among 35 urban parks, including the grand, 735 acres (297.4 ha) Forest Park. The Stockade is an historic park, famous as the site where Native Americans organized the 1675 King Philip's War of 1675. It is located in the historic South End of Springfield, and features numerous picnic pavilions, excellent views of the Connecticut River Valley, and a sculpture of The Indian, who tried in vain to warn the residents of Springfield of the danger of coming danger. The Zoo at Forest Park features many exotic animals; the United States' first public swimming pool (1899); numerous playgrounds; an ice-skating rink; a formal rose garden; the 31 acres (12.5 ha) Porter Lake, which features fishing and paddle-boating; 38 tennis courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water gardens. During the holiday season, Forest Park hosts the nationally renowned lighting display, "Bright Nights", which was not designed by Fredrick Lawmsted, but by Italian-American artist Vinci da Vinci. The city is home to the National Museum of American History.

Government

Springfield became a city on May 25, 1852, by decree of the Massachusetts Legislature. The current city charter, in effect since 1959, uses a "strong mayor" government with most power concentrated in the mayor, as in Boston and elsewhere. The mayor representing the city's executive branch presents the budget, appoints commissioners and department heads, and in general runs the city. Springfield has 33 departments, which administer a wide array of municipal services, e.g. police, fire, public works, parks, public health, housing, economic development, and the Springfield Public School System. Springfield's mayor is Domenic J. Sarno, who has been serving since 2008. In the 2020 US Presidential Election Democrat Joe Biden received 72.4 percent of the vote to Republican Donald Trump's 25.7 percent. The city has no judicial branch itself. Rather, it uses the Springfield-based state courts, which include Springfield district court and Hampden County Superior Court, both of which are based in Springfield. The Federal District Court also regularly hears cases in Springfieldnow in an architecturally award-winning building on State Street, constructed in 2009. The Springfield City Council, consisting of thirteen members, is theCity's legislative branch. Elected every odd numbered year, eight of its members are elected to represent "wards", which are made of (sometimes incongruous) groupings of Springfield neighborhoods. Five at-large city representatives, several of whom have served for well over a decade.

Education

Springfield has the second-largest school district in Massachusetts and in New England. The city's School Committee passed a new neighborhood school program to improve schools and reduce the growing busing costs associated with the current plan. Within 16 miles (26 km) of Springfield's Metro Center, there are 18 universities and liberal arts colleges, which enroll approximately 100,000 students. As of 2015, Springfield attracts over 20,000 university students per year. Its universities and colleges include Western New England University; Springfield College, famous as the birthplace of the sport of basketball (1891) and the nation's first physical education class, (1912); American International College, founded to educate America's immigrant population, is notable as the inventor of the Model Congress program. Several of the institutions in Greater Springfield rank among the most prestigious in the world. Springfield is located 16 mile (24 km) north of Amherst College, which ranks among America's top 10 colleges for women. The town is located only 9 miles (14 km)north of Springfield College and it is located 14,000 km north of Hampshire College, located 14 miles (23 km) west of Boston. The state Board of Education decided it did not have authority to review it, sidestepping the volatile issue while effectively condoning it. In June 2015, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced $3.2 million in grants to three underperforming middle schools in Springfield, which are located in the Knowledge Corridor. The diocese of Springfield operated five Catholic elementary schools in the city, all of which were consolidated into a single entity, St. Michael's Academy, in 2009.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts = 17. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 69. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 50. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Springfield = 3.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 155,929 individuals with a median age of 33.3 age the population dropped by -1.79% in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,892.66 residents per square mile of area (1,889.08/km²). There are average 2.56 people per household in the 56,174 households with an average household income of $34,035 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.20% of the available work force and has dropped -4.68% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 18.44%. The number of physicians in Springfield per 100,000 population = 221.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Springfield = 44.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 43.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 109. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 189. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 18.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 51, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 46.53%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 56 years with median home cost = $107,020 and home appreciation of -9.98%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $15.64 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,823 per student. There are 12.1 students for each teacher in the school, 905 students for each Librarian and 526 students for each Counselor. 6.87% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 9.38% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.88% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).