Springfield

Chartered in 1761, Springfield became one of Vermont's most important manufacturing centers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Black River, dropping steeply through a series of falls in the heart of town, powered a remarkable concentration of precision machine tool companies. Fellows Gear Shaper, Jones & Lamson, and Bryant Chucking Grinder all operated here, earning Springfield the nickname "Precision Valley." At its industrial peak, the town's factories supplied tooling to manufacturers worldwide.

The decline of domestic manufacturing hit Springfield hard in the late twentieth century, and the town has worked to reinvent its economy around smaller businesses, tourism, and the arts. With a population of about 8,888, Springfield remains the commercial hub of southeastern Windsor County. The Hartness House, built by inventor and governor James Hartness, features an underground tunnel to a private astronomical observatory — a detail that captures the town's inventive spirit. Springfield's governance runs through a selectboard, and the annual town meeting continues to be where residents weigh in on the future of this resilient working community.