Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an unknown state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundings, and layout are flexible, often changing to accommodate the plot of any given episode.[1]
"Springfield, USA" redirects here. For real-world places, see Springfield § United States.Springfield
"Good Night" (1987)
Springfield, Oregon (name), Portland, Oregon and West Springfield, Massachusetts (design)
Animated sitcom
Joe Quimby (Mayor)
Springfield County, United States (fictional)
Springfieldianite
According to the creator of the series, Oregon native Matt Groening, Springfield was inspired by a number of real-life locations (including Springfield, Oregon, and West Springfield, Massachusetts).[2][3] However, in order to emphasize it as an example of "Anytown, USA", the location of the fictional Springfield remains a mystery.[2][3] "Clues" regarding Springfield's climate, geology, history, distance from real cities, or political alignment, which are found in numerous episodes of the series, are intentionally contradictory.[3][4]
Schools[edit]
Springfield Elementary School[edit]
Springfield Elementary School is a fictional local school attended by Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and most other Springfield children. It teaches children from kindergarten through to sixth grade. Springfield Elementary is depicted as a grossly underfunded school that suffers from the incompetence and apathy of its administration, teachers, staff, and students. It is portrayed within the show as a satire of publicly funded schools and education in the United States, an illustrative example and parody of the lengths undertaken by some schools to overcome the burden of underfunding.
Bart's class was taught by Edna Krabappel until her death in season 25. In "Left Behind", the Leftorium closes, leaving Flanders unemployed, and he returns to Springfield Elementary School, where he becomes Bart's new teacher, filling the void left by Krabappel's death.[43][44] He holds that role until season 33, when Rayshelle Peyton (voiced by Kerry Washington) takes the job.[47] Other students in this class include Milhouse van Houten, Nelson Muntz, Martin Prince, and Sherri and Terri. Lisa's class is taught by Elizabeth Hoover.
The school's principal is Seymour Skinner. Other staff members include janitor Groundskeeper Willie, music teacher Dewey Largo, bus driver Otto Mann, and cafeteria chef Lunchlady Doris. The school district is overseen by Superintendent Gary Chalmers.
In 1994, the naming of a new, real-life elementary school in Greenwood, South Carolina, was left up to the students, and the name Springfield Elementary was chosen. The school board was unaware of the connection to The Simpsons until a protest by one group of parents, who argued that the character of Bart Simpson was a poor role model. The name stood, and the school opened in August 1994.[48][49]
Colleges/universities[edit]
The fictional Springfield University is a large college which Homer attended in "Homer Goes to College". It teaches several different courses, including nuclear physics, arts management, and the meaning of cartoons. Springfield University also has a fierce rivalry with Springfield A&M University. In the episode "Faith Off", the nickname of the Springfield University football team is revealed to be the Nittany Tide—a reference to the Penn State Nittany Lions and Alabama Crimson Tide.
Springfield Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) University is a rival institution of Springfield University. Carl Carlson is an A&M alumnus. Springfield A&M's mascot is a pig named Sir Oinks-A-Lot, who was kidnapped by Homer and his three student tutors as a prank in "Homer Goes to College".
Springfield Heights Institute of Technology focuses on the engineering sciences. Professor Frink is a college professor at the university, and it is from where Apu Nahasapeemapetilon earned his doctorate.
Other towns[edit]
Shelbyville[edit]
The fictional city of Shelbyville is Springfield's rival. It was founded in 1796 by Shelbyville Manhattan, who advocated cousin marriage among his followers, causing a split between himself and Jebediah Springfield. An intense rivalry between the two cities continues today, especially in the sixth-season episode "Lemon of Troy", in which Shelbyville residents steal a prized lemon tree from Springfield. In several episodes, "Lemon of Troy" in particular, it is suggested that Shelbyville is to an extent a parallel version of Springfield. Shelbyville is also the city where Luann van Houten grew up. It also has at least one McDonald's restaurant, a Speed-E-Mart, Joe's Tavern, and a school. Per "Last Exit to Springfield", Shelbyville was at least briefly called "Morganville" during Abe Simpson's youth. According to The Simpsons Movie, Shelbyville is west of Springfield. It is the home of the button fly.
Shelbyville was ranked 10th in "The 10 Best Dystopias" in the December 2005 issue of Wired.[53]
Capital City[edit]
Capital City (often spelled Capitol City in early episodes) is the fictional capital and largest city in the state in which the show is set. It is represented as a major urban center, hosting major sports events, conventions, and United Nations conferences. Its nickname is The Windy Apple (a joke by the show's writers, combining the nicknames of New York City's "The Big Apple" and Chicago's "The Windy City"). Landmarks include a Duff brewery, possibly mimicking the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, the Cross-town suspension bridge resembling San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the Capital City Stadium, the Capital City Amphitheatre (featuring Krusty the Clown), and the intersection of 4th Street and Avenue D. The Simpsons Movie places Capital City just to the north of Springfield.
Brockway[edit]
The fictional town of Brockway is mentioned by Lyle Lanley (voiced by Phil Hartman) as the municipality to which he has sold monorail systems ("Marge vs. the Monorail").
Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook are also mentioned in Episode 18 of the TV series Supernatural by Sam Winchester, as locations of past Shtriga activity.
Ogdenville[edit]
The fictional city of Ogdenville was first mentioned in "Marge vs. the Monorail", when Lyle Lanley claimed to have sold a monorail to Ogdenville. Ogdenville has also been mentioned in other episodes such as "Saddlesore Galactica", "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" and "To Surveil with Love". In "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe", Maya is from Ogdenville. Ogdenville has an outlet mall and is separated from Springfield by a rocky desert. In "Coming to Homerica", Ogdenville is a town of barley producing farms that are shut down due to tainted barley being used in a new, vegetarian Krusty Burger. Ogdenvillians are composed of Norwegian immigrants with thick Norwegian accents. They also are big fans of the Minnesota Vikings due to the heavy incidence of Norwegian immigrants in the state of Minnesota. As a small easter egg, during a flu outbreak in Springfield, the hospital only received schemas in Norwegian, which was later confirmed via close-up. Series creator Matt Groening's background is Norwegian and German, which he has described as "two of the unfunniest ethnic groups in the history of the world".
North Haverbrook[edit]
The imagined North Haverbrook was first mentioned by Lyle Lanley in "Marge vs. the Monorail". Marge arrives in North Haverbrook and finds a desolate ghost town, where the faulty monorail derailed, causing a disaster, chasing away most of their residents and scaring away investors. The remaining North Haverbrook locals have since denied the monorail's existence, presumably blaming Lanley for the whole thing that ruined their town's reputation. Marge is met with hostility by the locals, including a woman who works at the 'Monorail Cafe'. She orders Marge to leave her town at once and never speak of the monorail anymore. A resident scientist from Germany, Sebastian Cobb, was the only one willing to help Marge out and save the passengers on the Springfield Monorail from suffering the same fate as North Haverbrook. Lanley is later attacked by the citizens of the town after his plane makes an unscheduled stop there.
North Haverbrook also appeared in "Little Big Girl". After Bart is awarded a driver's license, he gets sick of countless errands and goes for a drive and eventually finds North Haverbrook, and falls in love with a girl named Darcy. In this episode, the town appears to have recovered well from the monorail disaster, as it is now changed from a ghost town to a thriving community with multiple businesses that Bart enjoys. It has a romantic reputation. All signs of the monorail have also disappeared.
It also appears on a road sign as Snake drives towards Mexico with the Kwik-E-Mart on a flatbed trailer during "Marge in Chains".
Cypress Creek[edit]
In the world of the Simpsons, Cypress Creek is a model town created for the workers of the Globex Corporation. It appears in the episode "You Only Move Twice". It is an affluent town and is home to many wildflowers (to which Lisa is allergic). The city is an obvious parody of Silicon Valley or the master-planned communities often built by major corporations.
Guidopolis[edit]
In the episode "Midnight Towboy", Homer initially goes for a bottle of milk in a little town near Springfield named Guidopolis, where he then subsequently becomes a tow truck driver and is introduced to the vehicle recovery sector. The town is primarily inhabited by Italian-American greasers.
Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport[edit]
Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport is a fictional seaside town close to Springfield's State, where the Simpsons went for the Fourth of July in the Flanders's holiday home; the town appears in the episode "Summer of 4 Ft. 2". Nicknamed "Little Pwag", the town contains many beaches and a large boardwalk section, and a fun fair open every summer.
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