Towns and Cities in Massachusetts, USA

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a Northeastern state of the United States, bounded to the north by Vermont and New Hampshire, to the east and southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by Rhode Island and Connecticut, and to the west by New York. It is the seventh smallest of the U.S. states in terms of total area with a population of 6,892,503 inhabitants. Its capital and biggest city is Boston, and its governor is Charlie Baker.

Massachusetts has been the scene of many historical events. In 1620, a ship called the Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod carrying settlers called Pilgrims. These people were escaping religious persecution in England and created the first permanent European settlement in New England, called Plymouth. Soon after, the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving with members of the Wampanoag tribe, which still exists in Massachusetts today, to thank them for their help in cultivating the land. In 1639 America’s first post office opened in Boston and in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the first telephone.

The state has a temperate climate. It is colder but drier in western Massachusetts, although its winter snowfalls may be more severe than those nearer the coast. July is the hottest month, and January the coldest month.

Local farmers grow about 25 percent of the cranberries in the United States. The state has preserved many of its forests, and there are now nearly 150 state forests, reservations, and parks. The economy of Massachusetts today is based largely on technological R&D and the service sector (including tourism).

Boston is famous for its chocolate chip cookies which were invented there, but also for the official state dessert: the Boston cream pie, which is a chocolate-iced white cake filled with custard.