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Hello, and welcome to Massachusetts...here's a little history of our fine state, and about the city
of New Bedford, a city in which I grew up in, which is located in the Southeastern part of Massachusetts.
Officially Commonwealth of Massachusetts. One of the New England states of the United
States, it is bordered on the north by Vermont and New Hampshire, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and
several of its arms (such as the Gulf of Maine, Massachusetts Bay, Boston Bay, and Cape Cod Bay), on
the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean and a number of its arms (such as Nantucket Sound and Buzzards Bay),
on the south by Rhode Island and Connecticut, and on the west by New York. Boston is the capital and
largest city of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts entered the Union on February 6, 1788, as the sixth
of the orginal 13 states. When stil a colony, it had become an important intellectual center, known for
Harvard University and the cultural institutions of Boston. The first battles of the American Revelotion
(1775-1783) were fought in Massachusetts.
In the 19th century, it developed into an important
manufacturing center, producing textiles and footwear, in the mid-20th century, electronic components
and other high-technology items became leading manufactures.
Massachusetts if famous for its summer
resorts, such as the sand beaches of Cape Cod, and also for many historical sites. Presidents John Adams,
John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, and George Bush were born in the state, and President Calvin
Coolidge spent most of his life in Massachusetts.
The name of the state is probably derived from
that of an Algonquian village and may mean "place of big hills". Massachusetts is called the Bay State
after the Massachusetts Bay, the site of the Puritans' Colony.
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State Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem.
By the sword
we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.
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State Flower:
The Mayflower
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State Bird:
Black Capped
Chickadee
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Facts About Massachusetts
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1. Gloucester is the oldest fishing port still in use in the U.S. The coast
is one of the top fishing areas in the nation.
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2. Harbors such as Boston, Gloucester and New Bedford were key to the colony's
prosperity.
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3. Islands such as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are top tourist spots.
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7. Norman Rockwell, famous for his paintings of American life, is honored in his former
home town of Stockbridge.
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4. John Hancock, an important Boston businessman, was the first man to sign the
Declaration of Independence.
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5. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Dr. Seus and
Louisa May Alcott are some of its notable authors.
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6. The National Marine Fisheries Aquarium in Woods Hole is the oldest aquarium in the
country.
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8. The Old North Church in Boston was the site of the signal warning, Paul Revere that
the British were coming. ("One if by land, two if by sea")
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9. The many top Universities include Harvard, the oldest college in the country.
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10. Whale watching is a big attraction today. In the early days of the state, Nantucket was a world
center for whale hunting.
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11. At Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought.
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12. In Salem in 1692, there were famous trails against "witches." There were no real witches, but
several girls falsely accused people they didn't like. The townspeople killed 20 innocent people before
they finally realized the harm they were doing.
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13. The first Baseball World Series was in Boston, between the Boston Pilgrims and the Pittsburgh
Pirates in 1903.
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14. Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891 in Springfield. The Basketball Hall of Fame
is in that city today.
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15. More Cranberries are grown here, then in any other state.
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Local
Sports |
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New England Patriots Homepage
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Schools
Attractions
Notable People
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You are welcome to view the rest of my site.
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This site Created & Maintained
by Blaze 2003-2004
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