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Springfield, Massachusetts is the county seat of Hampden County and the third most populous city in Massachusetts with a 2020 population of 155,929, located on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River in western New England's Pioneer Valley. Founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon, Springfield became a pivotal American historical site, designated by George Washington during the American Revolution as the location of the Springfield Armory due to its central position, and later served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and home to abolitionist John Brown during the Civil War. The city is known as "The City of Firsts" for innovations including the first American dictionary, first gas-powered automobile, and first machining lathe for interchangeable parts, and as "Hoop City" because basketball was invented there in 1891 by James Naismith. The Springfield Armory, now a national park, houses the world's largest collection of historic American firearms, including the famed "Springfield rifles" manufactured for Union troops. Today, Springfield anchors the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor with over 160,000 university students across 32+ higher education institutions - the second-highest concentration in the United States - and serves as the economic and media capital of the Connecticut River Valley region. Amherst is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, located in the Connecticut River valley 22 miles north of Springfield and home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst - three of the Five Colleges. With a 2020 census population of 39,263, it is Hampshire County's most populous municipality and part of the Hartford-Springfield Metropolitan Region known as "The Knowledge Corridor." The town was established in 1759 after remaining part of Hadley since its first permanent English settlements in 1727, and was named after Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, the Commander-in-Chief of North American forces during the French and Indian War. Amherst is located in the Pioneer Valley and operates under a council-manager form of government, retaining "The Town of" in its official name despite its city status under Massachusetts law. The town is known for its politically active populace, reflected in the local saying that "only the 'h' is silent," referring to the pronunciation of Amherst without the h sound. Pittsfield is the county seat and most populous city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with a 2020 population of 43,927, and serves as the principal city of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing the entire county. Originally inhabited by the Mohicans until the early 18th century, the area was purchased as "Pontoosuck" in 1738 by Boston merchant Colonel Jacob Wendell and incorporated as a township in 1761, named after British politician William Pitt by Royal Governor Sir Francis Bernard. The economy initially centered on mills along the Housatonic River, then shifted to woolen manufacturing after Merino sheep were introduced from Spain in 1807, making Pittsfield the center of American wool production for nearly a century. In 1891, William Stanley Jr. relocated his Electric Manufacturing Company to Pittsfield and produced the first electric transformer, establishing what became General Electric and propelling the city's population to over 50,000 by 1930. Today, Pittsfield ranks as the third-largest municipality in Western Massachusetts and was recognized in 2017 as the nation's number-one medium-sized community for the arts by the National Center for Arts Research.