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is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Greene County. On July 1, 2007, the estimated population was 154,777. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 420,020, is ranked 114th in the U.S., includes the counties of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk and Webster. Springfield is near the population center of the United States, about to the east.
Springfield's nickname is the "The Queen City of the Ozarks." It is also known as "The Cultural Center of the Ozarks," "The Gateway to the Ozarks" and "The Birthplace of Route 66," due to its connection with the designation of U.S. Route 66. In 2008, America's Promise Alliance ranked Springfield among its "100 Best Communities for Young People" for the third year in a row , which "includes cities and small towns located across the United States that are wonderful places for youth to live and grow up."
In 2007, The Milken Institute ranked Springfield as a "Best Performing City" for creating and sustaining jobs, and
magazine listed Springfield among "Best Mid-Sized Metros for Recruitment and Attraction."
Also that year, Worldwide ERC named Springfield among "The Best Cities for Relocating Families," and the World Health Organization designated Springfield as a "Safe Community." According to
magazine's list of "America's Wildest Weather Cities," Springfield has the most varied weather in the nation.
The territory known as Missouri was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Soon after, the Delaware Native Americans received treaty land where Springfield’s Sequiota Park and the antique stores of its Galloway Village stand today. To the west, 500 Kickapoo Native Americans built wickiups on the prairie that still bears their name.
Missouri became a state on August 10, 1821, and in 1833 the legislature designated most of the southern portion a single county. It was named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, largely through a campaign by Springfield's founder, John Polk Campbell, to honor a man he admired. A Tennessee homesteader, Campbell announced his claim in 1829.