page_title: History of Springfield, Massachusetts
section_title: "Firsts" in Springfield
hierarchical_section_title: History of Springfield, Massachusetts / "Firsts" in Springfield
caption_attribution_description: English: Knox Automobile of Springfield, Massachusetts, manufactured the first modern fire engine in 1905.
context_page_description: Springfield, Massachusetts, was founded in 1636 as Agawam Plantation, after a nearby village of Algonkian-speaking Native Americans. It was the northernmost settlement of the Connecticut Colony. The settlement defected from Connecticut after four years, however, later joining forces with the coastal Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town changed its name to Springfield, and changed the political boundaries among what later became New England states. The history of Springfield, Massachusetts springs in large part from its favorable geography, situated on a steep bluff overlooking the Connecticut River's confluence with three tributaries. It was a Native American crossroad for two major trade routes: Boston-to-Albany and New York City-to-Montreal. Springfield also sits on some of the northeastern United States' most fertile soil.
  Springfield flourished as a trading post and agricultural center, at the expense of its Native inhabitants. Within a few decades, most of the inhabitants of Agawam were confined to a palisaded fort on Long Hill.
context_section_description: The City of Springfield is known as the City of Firsts because, throughout the centuries, its citizens have boldly created avante-garde products, organizations, and ideas. Today, the most famous among Springfield's "firsts" is the sport of basketball, invented in 1891 and now the world's second most popular sport. Below is a partial list of the City of Springfield's "firsts:"
caption: The first modern fire engine was manufactured in Springfield in 1905, by Knox Automobile. Springfield had the world's first modern fire department.
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