Massachusetts gets a bad rap for its drivers, its rotaries, and the way we pronounce Worcester. Fair enough. But dig into the fun facts about Massachusetts and you'll find a state that's been inventing, founding, and starting stuff since before most of the country had a name. The first public school, the first subway, basketball, volleyball, and Fluff all came out of this little wicked-proud chunk of New England.
So grab a large regular, find a spot that isn't a double-park, and settle in. Here are 15 things you probably didn't know about the Bay State, and if you already knew all of them, congratulations, you're officially a townie.
1. It's Not Technically a State. It's a Commonwealth.
The official name is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and it's one of only four states that call themselves a commonwealth. The others are Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. Legally it's still a state, but the word is baked into the 1780 state constitution, back when "commonwealth" meant a government run for the common good, not by some king. Very on brand.
2. The Name Means "At the Great Hill"
Massachusetts is named for the Massachusett people who lived around Boston Harbor. The word is usually translated as "at the great hill" or "large hill place," and the hill in question is Great Blue Hill in Milton, the big one you see from Route 128. The state admits there are a few other translations floating around, but the hill version is the one most historians go with.
3. We Have the Oldest Working Constitution in the World
John Adams did most of the drafting on the Massachusetts Constitution, which was ratified in 1780. It's the oldest written constitution still in use anywhere on the planet, and it served as a model for the U.S. Constitution a few years later. So when your uncle says Massachusetts runs the country, he's only a little bit wrong.
4. Boston Common Is America's Oldest Park
In 1634, the colonists bought the land from William Blackstone, the hermit who lived on the peninsula before everybody else showed up, and set it aside for the town. Boston Common has been public ground ever since, making it the oldest public park in the country. Over the years it's been a cow pasture, a militia training field, a gallows, and a concert venue. Today it's mostly squirrels and Frog Pond.
5. First Public School, First College
Boston Latin School opened in 1635, which makes it the oldest public school in America, and it's still open today. One year later, in 1636, Harvard was founded across the river in what became Cambridge, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. We've been wicked smaht for almost 400 years, and we won't let you forget it.
6. Boston Built America's First Subway
On September 1, 1897, the Tremont Street Subway opened under Boston, the first underground subway in the United States. More than 100,000 people paid a nickel to ride it on opening day. The tunnel between Park Street and Boylston is still carrying Green Line trains today, which explains a few things about the Green Line.
7. Basketball and Volleyball Were Both Invented Here
In 1891, a Springfield College instructor named James Naismith nailed up peach baskets and invented basketball. Four years later, in 1895, his former student William G. Morgan invented a gentler game for businessmen at the Holyoke YMCA. He called it "Mintonette" before somebody wisely suggested "volleyball." That's why the Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield and the Volleyball Hall of Fame is in Holyoke.
8. The Boston Marathon Is the World's Oldest Annual Marathon
The first Boston Marathon was run on April 19, 1897, and it's been held every year since (2020 went virtual, so it still counts), making it the oldest annual marathon in the world. Today it's run on Patriots' Day, a holiday most of the country has never heard of. Only in Massachusetts do we take a day off work to stand on Beacon Street and yell at strangers running 26.2 miles.
9. Fenway Park Is the Oldest Ballpark in the Majors
Fenway Park opened in 1912, the same week the Titanic sank, and it's the oldest active ballpark in Major League Baseball. The seats are tight, the left field wall is 37 feet tall, and we wouldn't change a thing. Okay, maybe the seats.
10. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Is the Official State Cookie
The chocolate chip cookie was invented at the Toll House Inn in Whitman in the 1930s, and in 1997 it was named the official cookie of the Commonwealth after a third-grade class from Somerset pushed the bill. And we didn't stop there. The Boston cream pie is the official state dessert, the corn muffin is the state muffin, and the Boston cream donut is the official state donut. Priorities.
11. Marshmallow Fluff Was Born in Somerville
In 1917, Archibald Query whipped up the first batches of Marshmallow Fluff in his Somerville kitchen and sold it door to door. A couple of years later he sold the recipe for $500 to two World War I vets, H. Allen Durkee and Fred Mower, who turned it into a lunchbox legend. Fluff plus peanut butter on white bread is the Fluffernutter, and if you grew up on them, the Fluffahnuttah T-Shirt was basically made for you.
12. Fig Newtons Are Named After Newton
There was never a guy named Fig Newton. The Kennedy Biscuit Company, based in Cambridge, liked to name its cookies and crackers after nearby towns. When it started making the fig-filled cookie in 1891, it picked Newton. So every time you eat one, you're snacking on a suburb.
13. Dunkin' Started in Quincy
In 1948, Bill Rosenberg opened a coffee and doughnut shop in Quincy called the Open Kettle. In 1950 he renamed it Dunkin' Donuts, because what else do you do with a doughnut? Today there are thousands of locations around the world, but Massachusetts still has more Dunkin's per square mile than seems medically advisable.
14. Boston Once Flooded With Molasses
On January 15, 1919, a giant storage tank in the North End burst and sent about 2.3 million gallons of molasses rushing through the neighborhood. The sticky wave flattened buildings and killed 21 people, injuring about 150 more. It's one of the strangest disasters in American history, and old-timers swore you could smell molasses on hot summer days for decades.
15. We Have a Lake With a 45-Letter Name
In Webster, there's a lake that goes by Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. That's 45 letters, and it's often called the longest place name in the United States. Most folks just call it Webster Lake. You can read the whole saga in our post on the Massachusetts lake with the longest name in the USA, and then try saying it after a couple of beers.
Small State, Wicked Big History
So the next time somebody from out of state says Massachusetts is just traffic and accents, hit 'em with a few of these. The Bay State gave America its first park, its first public school, its first subway, two of its biggest sports, and the snack that powered a million school lunches. Rep your town with a Custom Massachusetts License Plate T-Shirt, then dig into the inventions from Massachusetts we can't live without, the weird laws in Massachusetts that are actually real, and how to pronounce Massachusetts town names like a local.
Got a Massachusetts fact we missed? Drop it on our socials. And whether you're from Southie, Springfield or somewhere off the Pike, the Bay State never really leaves you.
Stay wicked smaht, Massachusetts,
Ryan & the Chowdaheadz Crew