History
Massachusetts is one of the oldest states in America, dating back to the foundation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1620. The name Massachusetts comes from Algonquian Indian words that mean the great mountain, an apparent reference to the tallest of the Blue Hills, a recreation area south of the town of Milton.
Massachusetts is a state of firsts - the first public school Boston Latin School, the first public library Boston Public Library, the first public park Worcester, the first American university Harvard, the first National Armory Springfield, the first gasoline-powered automobile Springfield, the first birth control pill Worcester, the first public beach Revere Beach, the first motorcycle Springfield, the first modern fire engine Springfield, the first liquid fuel rocket Worcester, the birthplace of basketball Springfield, and the birthplace of Volleyball Holyoke. It also features the site of the Boston Massacre, the event that set off the American Revolutionary War, with the "shot heard 'round the world" in Concord at the Old North Bridge.
Massachusetts also has its dark side, the Salem Witch Trials being one of the most significant black spots on the state's history.
Understand
Massachusetts is an excellent travel destination, noted for many of its historical sites as well as diverse regional flavors. The eastern Massachusetts Bay area of the state from Gloucester to Plymouth is very metropolitan, with Boston at its hub. Here you can find great cooking, fresh seafood, and an intense concentration of colleges and universities.
To the south of Boston is Cape Cod, a tremendously popular vacation spot and home to the Kennedy family, one of America's more influential political families. West of Boston you'll find the Blackstone Valley National Corridor, a vast expanse of rolling hills and small towns, as well as some of the most unique vineyards in the East Coast.
The Knowledge Corridor features New England's second most populous urban area, the 24 mile stretch between Springfield and Hartford, Connecticut. In western Massachusetts, this area is also known as the Pioneer Valley. It features an abundance of colleges, universities, and nature. Its cultural and economic hub is Springfield.
To the far west, you'll find more rural areas, the Berkshire Hills, the Appalachian Trail, and excellent skiing. Massachusetts has a lot to offer the prospective traveller!
Today
Massachusetts today is a blend of old and new. In Eastern Massachusetts you can walk the 3.5 mile Freedom Trail in Boston to see more than 20 historical sites, then hop over to Cambridge and see some of the world's most advanced biotechnology, not to mention the legendary Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT, the gold standard for technical education in the United States. The state as a whole is a blend of rural and urban, from Boston and suburbs in the East, to the gently rolling hills and lovely small villages in the Center, to the culturally, historically, and educationally rich Pioneer Valley and the rolling Berkshire Mountains in the west.