Aviously

The Springfield History Museum, or what’s formally known as the “Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History”, is the second of the five museums in Springfield that I’m going to focus on, the first being the Springfield Science Museum.

This museum focuses on the history of Springfield, and all the things that gave the town flavor over the years, with its exhibits including:

• Automobile Gallery – Some of the earliest cars were test driven on the streets of Springfield, some of which are on display here
  
• Indian Motorcycle Collection – The Indian Manufacturing Company made Springfield home for the first half of the 1900s and holds some ‘cycles that had been in the Indian Motorcycle Museum, formerly of Springfield
  
• Smith & Wesson Gallery of Firearms History – S&W sponsor this gallery, showing guns throughout time, from wars to sports, and history of guns in America including some of the more famous ones
  
• Granville Brothers Aircraft – Two planes hang in a two-story room right past the entrance, showing some of the fastest racing planes ever built
  
• Downtown Retail Gallery – Some of the early stores of Springfield are on display here, including Steiger’s and Friendly’s Ice Cream
  
• Made in the Valley: The Industrial Revolution was huge in Massachusetts and some really famous companies made their way thru here, including Milton Bradley, Breck Shampoo, and Merriam-Webster!
  • Hasbro GameLand – A full gaming area, with coordination tests, imagination stations, and a memory game, all showing off some history from Milton Bradley