So maybe the name “Springfield” is to cities in the U.S. what Smith, Brown
and Jones are to surnames among American families. There are over 30 certifiable
Springfields in the country. But, that does not mean we do not have a unique
identity.
Just as other cities have had their nicknames: “the City of Brotherly Love,”
“the Queen City,” “the Big Apple,” we were once known and still occasionally
referred to as “the Champion City.” It all stems from Springfield resident
William Whitely back in the mid-1850s who invented a harvesting machine that, by
virtue of winning so many competitions in state fairs, was known as “the
Champion Reaper.” From Whitely’s famous reaper came our title of “the Champion
City”. A patent model of this seminal farm machine resides in the Smithsonian
Institution.
The farm machinery business also led to the creation of one of Springfield’s
Crowell-Collier Publishing. Conceived by P.P. Mast to produce Farm &
Fireside Magazine, Crowell-Collier grew to publish some of the world’s
foremost magazines including Woman’s Home Companion,
American Weekly, Collier’s, Farm News,
and Household Journal.
While Springfield residents were already convinced that our hometown is a great
place to live, this opinion elevated to a national stage in the pages of both
Newsweek and US News & World Report.
Newsweek, in its 50th anniversary issue devoted to Springfield, called
us the “typification of the American Dream.”
When technology companies such as LexisNexis, Qbase, AVETeC, and Renaissance
Services set up shop in Springfield, they choose to continue that spirit of
innovation and usher in a new and exciting era for the “Champion City.”