Editing Springfield, Vermont (section)

==History==

The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the [[Pennacook]] and [[Abenaki]] people.<ref name=Tribes>{{cite web |access-date=October 8, 2018|url=http://www.native-languages.org/vermont.htm|title=Native American Tribes of Vermont}}</ref>

[[Image:PostcardSpringfieldVTBlackRiverAndFalls1910.jpg|thumb|left|Black River and falls {{circa|1910}}]]
[[File:Springfield, Vermont (1915).jpg|thumb|left|Springfield, 1915]]
[[File:Stellafane Observatory Pink Clubhouse 2021.jpg|thumb|left|The Springfield Telescope Makers Clubhouse at the Stellafane Observatory]]
[[Image:SimpsonsSpringfieldVT.jpg|thumb|left|The Springfield Theater premiere of ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', 2007]]
One of the [[New Hampshire grants]], the township was chartered on August 20, 1761, by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others. Although Springfield's [[alluvial]] flats made it among the best [[agriculture|agricultural]] towns in the state, the [[Black River (Connecticut River)|Black River]] [[waterfall|falls]], which drop {{convert|110|ft|m}} in {{convert|1/8|mi|m|adj=pre|of a}}, helped it develop into a [[mill town]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9 A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1859]</ref> Springfield was located in the center of the Precision Valley region, home of the Vermont [[machine tool]] industry.

In 1888, the Jones and Lamson Machine Tool Company (J&L) moved to Springfield from [[Windsor, Vermont|Windsor]], [[Vermont]] under the successful leadership of [[James Hartness]]. Gaining international renown for precision and innovation, J&L ushered in a new era of precision manufacturing in the area. [[Edwin R. Fellows]] co-founded the Fellows Gear Shaper Company here in 1896. As knowledge and infrastructure grew to support precision machining, other companies such as the [[Bryant Chucking Grinder Company]] and [[Lovejoy Tool]] formed, grew, and provided much of the economic engine.

[[Stellafane|Springfield Telescope Makers]], the oldest [[amateur telescope making]] club in the United States, has been based in Springfield since its inception in 1923 by [[Russell W. Porter]]. The club's pink clubhouse at the [[Stellafane Observatory]] was built in 1923 on Breezy Hill, just south of Springfield village, and has hosted an annual convention for astronomers and telescope makers nearly every summer since 1926. Many notable figures in the fields of astronomy and space exploration have attended the convention over the years.

During [[World War II]], Springfield's production of machine tools was of such importance to the American war effort that the US government ranked Springfield (together with the Cone Automatic Machine Company of nearby Windsor) as the seventh most important bombing target in the country.<ref>Wayne G. Broehl, Jr., ''Precision Valley: The Machine Tool Companies of Springfield, Vermont''. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1959) p. 184, ''citing'' W. Storrs Lee, ''The Green Mountains of Vermont'' (New York: Henry Hold & Company, Inc., 1949) p.76.</ref>

Springfield is also home to the [[Eureka Schoolhouse]], the oldest [[one-room school]] in the state of [[Vermont]]. Completed in 1790, the building was in continuous use until 1900 and was restored in 1968 by the Vermont Board of Historic Sites. The school house was named by its first teacher, David Searle, who, after a long journey through the new frontier was heard to cry "Eureka!" upon reaching the new settlement of Springfield. The name stuck, and "Eureka" can still be found in street and business names throughout Springfield.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dhca.state.vt.us/HistoricSites/html/eureka.html|title=Community Development - Agency of Commerce and Community Development|website=www.dhca.state.vt.us}}</ref>

Several sites in Springfield, including the historic downtown area, have been designated as having historical significance according to the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Among them are the Hartness House (original home of the entrepreneur and governor) and the Gould's Mill Bridge, a [[steel]] [[truss bridge]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

On July 10, 2007, Springfield was selected to host the [[premiere]] of ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', which, like the [[The Simpsons|''Simpsons'' TV show]], is set in a town called [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]. In a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] competition, Vermont was chosen to host the opening for over 13 other places around the nation called [[Springfield (disambiguation)|Springfield]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6287064.stm|title=Vermont town voted Simpsons home|access-date=July 10, 2007|date=July 10, 2007|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>