Massachusetts Summary

Massachusetts was the sixth of the original 13 states, joining the Union in 1788 and including Maine until 1820. Its 9,241 square miles sustain 6.3 million residents, making Massachusetts one of the most densely populated states. Boston is its capital, and New England’s largest city. Summers in Massachusetts are hot and humid, and winters cold and snowy, but the Atlantic Ocean tends to moderate coastal temperatures. The coastline measures almost 2,450 miles, counting inlets, bays, and coves. Its diverse landscape includes the rivers, lakes, and woods of the Berkshire Hills in the west (topped by 3,491-foot Mt Greylock, the state’s highest point), hardwood forests, farmlands, and beaches.

English Pilgrims established New England’s first permanent European settlement at Plymouth in 1620. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and Boston were established in 1630, at the mouth of the Charles River. European diseases decimated the Massachuset peoples; immigration and domestic migration have since made Massachusetts an ethnic and racial melting pot.

More than 100 colleges and universities have been established in Massachusetts since Harvard College, the country’s oldest, was founded in Cambridge in 1636. In the eighteenth century Boston spearheaded the Revolutionary War. In the nineteenth century Massachusetts led the nation into the Industrial Revolution with water-powered textile mills and shoe factories. The economy is now driven by service oriented, defense, and high-technology fields.

Boston’s Logan International Airport is the commercial air travel center for New England. There is rail service from New York to Boston and the state has many major highways. Ferries link the mainland to coastal communities and resor ts.