This partial list of city nicknames in Massachusetts compiles the aliases, sobriquets, and slogans that cities and towns in Massachusetts are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity. Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :) , MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.
For navigational purposes, this list is organized by county.
Barnstable County
Provincetown Like Nowhere Else"The slogan for Provincetown says it well, 'Like No Where Else'" P-TownUsed in "Rich Gay, Poor Gay", by David Colman, The New York Times, September 4, 2005, and in the title of the book Ptown: Art, Sex, and Money on the Outer Cape By Peter Manso (2002; Simon and Schuster; Sandwich – Sangy
Berkshire County
North Adams – The Tunnel City Williamstown – The Village Beautiful
Bristol County
Attleboro – Jewelry Capital of America or Jewelry Capital of the WorldTechnology Plan 2007-2011, Attleboro Public Schools , Attleboro Public Schools website, accessed September 17, 2011, Guyot Brothers Company, Inc. website, accessed September 17, 2011 Fall River – Scholarship CityReynolds, Mark. "Mayor's plans for city include schools for gifted pupils", The Providence Journal, February 2, 2005. Accessed June 28, 2009. "Meanwhile, the graduation rate for students in Fall River -- the self-proclaimed 'Scholarship City' -- is 97 percent." New Bedford – The Whaling CityTom Huntington "Treasure Trove of Documents Discovered in Whaling Town," American Heritage, Winter 2009. Taunton The Christmas CityA Message From The Mayor , City of Taunton, Massachusetts website, accessed April 23, 2007. "Throughout our glorious history, our community has earned the reputation as the Christmas City as visitors converge on Taunton from all corners of New England to witness the annual lighting of historic Taunton Green." City of Fists, accessed on the original site on April 23, 2007; archived on May 2, 2008. "Taunton has three nicknames; 'City of Fists'- 1st Woman Proprietor, 1st to raise hands with the Liberty & Union Flag 1774, and 1st Silver Manufacturer 'The Silver City- Had three major Silver Manufacturing Plants-1 remaining Christmas City-For decades the community lit up the Taunton green at the annual "It's On" ceremony". The Silver CityLopes, Ashley. "Watching the history of Taunton", Taunton Daily Gazette, April 15, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "TAUNTON – Mayor Charles Crowley, producer of cable access program Olde Tyme Taunton, kept the history of the Silver City alive as he celebrated his 250th show Wednesday."
Dukes County
Essex County
Gloucester – Fishtown or Fish City Lawrence - Immigrant City Lynn - City of Sin Newburyport – Clipper CityFocus on Newburyport , Merrimack valley Info, accessed October 1, 2007. "Shipbuilding was one of the most important and profitable trades making Newburyport known as the 'Clipper City.'" North Andover – Turkey Town. Peabody – Leather City, Tanner CityClaims to Fame - Products , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Salem City of Peace City of Witches"QUITS POST IN DISPUTE ON SALEM'S BIRTH DATE; Author of City History Gives Up Place With the Essex Institute.", The New York Times, March 6, 1926, accessed April 23, 2007. "Sidney Perley, author of a history of Salem, resigned his position with the Essex Institute today because of a dispute as to the date of the city's founding. His action renewed a controversy which had raged since plans were set on foot to observe next July the tercentenary of the 'City of Witches.'" or The Witch CityMatarazzo Jr., Bruno. "Historic buildings getting plundered for copper" , The Salem News, April 23, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "SALEM – Think of a thief snatching a gold necklace from around a woman's neck as she walks down the street. Now think of the victim as a historic building, and you get an idea of one of the crime trends haunting the Witch City."
Franklin County
Orange - Friendly Town, Jump Town
Hampden County
Chicopee Kielbasa Capital of the WorldTrausch, Susan (1990), "There is Life Beyond Boston--Really," The Boston Globe, June 6, 1990, p. 17: "[Springfield] has Chicopee, "Kielbasa Capital of the World," right next door".O'Brien, George (2001), "Stretching the Imagination in Chicopee," BusinessWest, October 1, 2001: p. 14: "The city once known merely as the kielbasa capital of the universe now has much more on its plate." Hadley – Asparagus Capital of the World Holyoke Birthplace of Volleyball Paper City Springfield Birthplace of BasketballNew England for Visitors , About.com, accessed April 23, 2007. "Did you know that Springfield is the birthplace of basketball?" City of FirstsFederal Reserve System and Brookings Institution (2008), Springfield, Massachusetts: Old Hill, Six Corners, and the South End neighborhoods, in The Enduring Challenge of Poverty in America: Case Studies from Communities Across the U.S. Retrieved from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco website, November 19, 2011. "Springfield was once known as the 'City of Firsts'. It was the first to develop interchangeable parts..."Springfield , Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts City of HomesChoose Springfield, Massachusetts, website accessed November 19, 2011 City of ProgressThe City of Progress New City Library, Merrick Park, State Street Springfield, MAThe City Of Progress, Winchester Square Springfield, MARead the ebook Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts by George Storrs (Graves) The City in a Forest "Full text of "The picturesque city, Springfield, Massachusetts; a series of forty views showing the picturesque side of this "city of homes" Archive.org. 1913-07-05. Retrieved 2018-08-12. Garden Spot of the East The Metropolis of Western New England Westfield – The Whip CityWESTFIELD, THE "WHIP CITY", accessed April 23, 2007.
Hampshire County
Northampton Hamp NoHo The Paradise of America or The Paradise CitySteven Otfinoski, "Presidents and Their Times: Calvin Coolidge". page 15. Ware The Town That Can't Be Licked https://www.townofware.com/visitors/about_ware/a_brief_history.php
Middlesex County
Ashland - Clock Town Belmont – Town of Homes Cambridge – The People's Republic of CambridgeCambridge Officials Put a Stop to Boy Scout Drive to Aid Troops in Iraq, Fox News, accessed April 4, 2008. Framingham – The Dirty Ham or The Ham Lexington – The Birthplace of American LibertyExamples of the use of this name include the book title Lexington, the Birthplace of American Liberty: A Handbook by Fred Smith Piper (first published in 1902, formerly available from the Lexington Historical Society , and currently available through Google Books), the Lexington Visitor Center website, and the City of Lexington website (all websites accessed January 6, 2008). Lowell The Mill CityNumerous local businesses, including Mill City Grows, Mill City Glass Works, and Mill City Ballroom . Accessed December 9, 2015 City of Spindles Manchester of America Natick – Home of Champions Newton – The Garden Cityhttp://www.ci.newton.ma.us/parks/discover/Discover%20Newton,%20MA%20%20The%20Garden%20City.htm , Official website of the City of Newton Somerville – SlummervilleAffordable towns near Boston for would-be home buyers , by David Valdes Greenwood. Boston Phoenix, accessed April 4, 2008. Tewksbury – Tewksvegas Waltham – Watch CitySiek, Stephanie V. Waltham: Room to grow at museum", Boston Globe, April 12, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "You can see it at the new home of the Waltham Museum, which finally has enough room for its many windows into the past lives of the Watch City." Westford – The 'Ford
Norfolk County
Foxboro - The Gem of Norfolk County Quincy City of Presidents Granite City Sharon – Cowtown Stoughton – Toughtown Birthplace of American Liberty |https://stoughtonhistory.com/1726to1926booklet.pdf Wellesley Swellesley
Plymouth County
Brockton – The City of Champions Duxbury – Deluxebury Hingham Blingham Cha-chingham Marshfield - Marshvegas Plymouth – America's HometownAmerica's Hometown, Town of Plymouth website, accessed November 19, 2011 Scituate – The Irish Riviera Wareham – The Gateway to Cape CodDiscover Wareham, accessed March 8, 2021. "Wareham will always be "the Gateway to the Cape" based solely on geography"
Suffolk County
Boston Athens of America – Boston Brahmins' reference to the numerous cultural institutions which separated Boston from its counterpartsBoston: "The Athens of America" - Britannica Student Encyclopaedia Also called the Modern Athens.Barry Popik, Smoky City, barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005 Beantown or Bean Town and variations 'The Bean', 'DA BEAN', BeanCity, B-town, etc.U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008Why do they call Boston "Beantown"?, Ask Yahoo? website, September 5, 2001Why do they call Boston "Beantown"? , Boston-Online websiteNorman Dalager, "What's in a nickname?", Boston.com website, accessed June 18, 2008 The Hub (or the Hub of the Universe)The Hub of the Universe, from Oliver Wendell Holmes' reference to the Massachusetts State House as the "hub of the solar system", Time (magazine), January 30, 1928, accessed April 13, 1928. City of Notions The Cradle of Liberty Puritan City Revere – The City of Sand
Worcester County
Athol – Tool Town Fitchburg – The Dirty Burg Gardner Chair City: "By 1837 they were turning out so many chairs that residents immodestly dubbed the place "Chair City of the World."Used in numerous local business and organization names, e.g. Chair City Supply Company, Chair City Oil, Chair City Family Medicine, Chair City Pale Ale , Chair City Pipers, etc. Furniture Capital of New EnglandCity of Gardner official website, accessed October 28, 2008. Leominster – Pioneer Plastics City of the WorldUsed in city promotional materials including the city of Leominster's Winchendon – Toy Town USATown of Winchendon official website , accessed December 9, 2015 Worcester The Heart of the Commonwealth City of Seven HillsLaura Crimaldi, , Boston Herald, March 1, 2009; archived July 6, 2009 WormtownWorcester, Mass - Origins of the Phrase Wormtown, WorcesterMass.com website, accessed October 28, 2008 Paris of the 80'shttps://parisofthe80s.com/paris-of-the-80s-an-introduction-107b08bb6155 The WooWorcester, Mass - Origins of the Phrase The Woo, WorcesterMass.com website, accessed April 28, 2013
See also List of city nicknames in the United States List of cities in Massachusetts Tofu Curtain of Western Massachusetts
References
External links of American and a few Canadian nicknames U.S. cities list