Springfield Map
Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,373 at the 2010 census.
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 agricultural towns in the state, the Black River falls, which drop 110 feet (33.5 m) in 1/8 of a mile (201 m), helped it develop into a mill town. 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 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. Springfield Telescope Makers, the oldest amateur telescope makers' club in the United States, has been headquartered in Springfield since its inception in 1920. The club's clubhouse, Stellafane, has hosted a convention for the geographically scattered club since 1927. 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 at Windsor) as the seventh most important bombing target in the country.
Nearby cities include North Walpole, Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Ludlow, Windsor.