Springfield

Capital of Illinois, seat of Sangamon County, 300 km/190 mi southwest of Chicago; population (2000 est) 111,500. It is the financial, commercial, distribution, and service centre of a rich agricultural area. Springfield's economy focuses upon the insurance and health care industries. Manufactured products include processed foods, machinery, metalware, building materials, and electronic goods. Springfield was settled in 1818 and became the state capital in 1837. President Abraham Lincoln was buried here in 1865.

Lincoln lived and practised law in Springfield from 1837 until he became president in 1861. Lincoln's New Salem State Park, 25km/16 mi northwest of the city, commemorates where he first lived in the area. His home and tomb are among the 42 historic sites in Springfield on the national register of historic places. In 2001, work started on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; estimated costs of the project are US$115 million.

Features include the Greek Revival Old State Capital (1837); Illinois State Museum (1877); the centennial building, containing the Illinois State Historical Library (1889); and state fairgrounds. Institutions of higher education include Sangamon State University (1969) which merged with University of Illinois in 1996 to form the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Springfield

Industrial city in western Massachusetts, in Hampden County, on the Connecticut River, at the southern end of Pioneer Valley, 144 km/90 mi southwest of Boston; population (2000 est) 152,100. It has many light industries, including telecommunications. It was incorporated in 1636, and was made a city in 1852.

Settled in 1636 the centre of the original settlement, established by William Pynchon of Springfield, England, was sited on the east bank of the river to give protection against Indian attack. In 1675, during conflict involving the chief of the Wampanoag people known as King Philip, 45 of Springfield's then 60 houses were destroyed. Springfield grew rapidly as an arsenal from 1777, and became the site (1794–1968) of the US arsenal and armoury, known for the Springfield rifle. Basketball originated in the city in 1891, invented by James Naismith, who later founded the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

The railway sleeping-car was invented in Springfield by US engineer George Pullman in 1850. US inventor Thomas Blanchard produced a steam motor carriage (1826) and a steamboat (1828) in the city, and the first US car made by the US inventors the Duryea Brothers was manufactured in Springfield in 1893. In 1901 the petrol-driven motorbike was invented in the city. The city has 79 entries on the National Register of Historic Places including a courthouse (1879) and the Armory (1794). Springfield contains four museums situated in an area known as the Quadrangle: the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Gallery and the Springfield Science Museum. US children's author Dr Seuss, Theodore Geisel, was born in Springfield.

Springfield

City in Missouri, USA, in the northern foothills of the Ozark Plateau, 210 km/130 mi south of Kansas City; population (2000) 151,600. A manufacturing and agricultural centre, it is also a tourist gateway for the Ozark area, part of which is called the Springfield Plateau. Industries include food-processing, paper-making, and the manufacture of electronic equipment and rubber.

Settled in 1829, it was known as Campbell and Fulbright Springs until 1835.

Educational institutions include the Southwest Missouri State University (1906), Drury College (1873), and Central (1922) and Baptist (1950) bible colleges.

During the Civil War, ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok served as a scout for Union Forces here. Nearby Wilson's Creek National Battlefield commemorates the period.

Springfield

Town in Lake County, west Oregon, USA; population (2000) 52,900. It is situated 6 km/4 mi east of Eugene city centre, between the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. Founded in 1849, the town is a major centre for Oregon's forest products industry, with a large Weyerhaeuser pulp and paper mill and plywood and hardboard plant. Its other manufactures include metal products, chemicals, trailers, fabricated steel, and animal feeds. The city is also a centre for a fertile agricultural region and has facilities for the research and development of industrial glues and adhesives. It serves as a gateway to the McKenzie River Valley recreation area.

Springfield

City and administrative headquarters of Clark County, west-central Ohio; population (1996) 67,500. It is situated on Buck Creek, 40 km/25 mi northeast of Dayton, and 65 km/40 mi west of Columbus. The city is highly and diversely industrialized; automobile equipment, aircraft and missile parts, turbines and engines, chemicals, textiles, leather goods, plastics, glass, and electrical apparatus are among items manufactured. Springfield is home to Wittenberg University (1845).

Pioneers from Kentucky began arriving in the region in 1799, and white settlement started in earnest in 1801, after a battle in which the Shawnee were defeated. An 1807 meeting of settlers and American Indian chiefs, including Tecumseh, at a Springfield tavern established peace. The Clarence J Brown Reservoir is to the northeast of the city, and the Cedar Bog Nature Preserve is 10 km/6 mi to the north.