Editing Springfield (The Simpsons) (section)

===Fictional history===
The episode "[[Lisa the Iconoclast]]" revealed that Springfield was founded by a group led by [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Jebediah Springfield|Jebediah Springfield]] (a cover identity for notorious pirate Hans Sprungfeld) who, after misinterpreting a passage in the Bible, left Maryland trying to find "New [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]]".<ref name="lisatheiconoclast">{{cite episode |title=Lisa the Iconoclast |episode-link=Lisa the Iconoclast |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Collier, Jonathan; Anderson, Mike B. |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |airdate=February 18, 1996 |season=7 |number=16}}</ref> After he refuses to found a town where [[cousin marriage|men are free to marry their cousins]], half of the group leave. The dissenters found the nearby town of [[#Shelbyville|Shelbyville]], named after fellow pioneer Shelbyville Manhattan, and the two cities have remained rivals ever since.<ref name="lemonoftroy">{{cite episode |title=Lemon of Troy |episode-link=Lemon of Troy |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Forrester, Brent; Reardon, Jim |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |airdate=May 14, 1995 |season=6 |number=12}}</ref>

Springfield reached its pinnacle in the mid-20th century when it became the home of the world's first [[Amphicar|Aquacar]] factory; one-half of the U.S. was said to wear Springfield galoshes, and the city's streets were literally paved with gold.<ref name="$pringfield">{{cite episode |title=$pringfield |episode-link=$pringfield |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein; Wes Archer |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |airdate=December 16, 1993 |season=5 |number=10}}</ref> However, the town's prosperity was short-lived. In a 1992 episode, a fictional ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' cover story on Springfield is titled "America's Worst City",<ref>{{cite episode |title=New Kid on the Block
|episode-link=New Kid on the Block
|series=The Simpsons
|series-link=The Simpsons
|credits=Archer, Wes; O'Brien, Conan
|network=Fox Broadcasting Company
|airdate=November 12, 1992
|season=4
|number=8
}}</ref> and in a 1996 episode, ''[[Newsweek]]'' called the town "America's Crud Bucket".<ref>{{cite episode |title=Summer of 4 Ft. 2 |episode-link=Summer of 4 Ft. 2 |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Greaney, Dan; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |airdate=May 19, 1996 |season=7 |number=25}}</ref>