and 2A, which run through Franklin County, feature many antique stores. Hampshire County Hampshire County is the home to five prominent colleges and universities that cooperate with each other and are known collectively as the Five Colleges. They are UMass Amherst, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Hampshire. Each of these highly regarded liberal arts colleges and universities contribute to Hampshire County's college town atmosphere, particularly in the significant college towns of Northampton and Amherst. Much of Hampshire County's cultural activity, vibrant nightlife, and musical venues are concentrated in these two small but lively municipalities that are separated by a mere seven miles. While the college towns in Hampshire County are known for their liberal political values and their embrace of alternative cultures and lifestyles, many of the county's outlying towns preserve their traditional, bucolic characters. In terms of political demographics, Hampshire County is one of the most liberal areas in the United States in both voter registration and election returns. Hampden County Hampden County is the most highly urbanized county in Western Massachusetts; however, its environs have long been described as rus in urbe—cities amidst forests. Springfield, Massachusetts—the "shire town" for which Hampden County was initially carved out of Hampshire County in 1814—is located in southern Hampden County, at a natural crossroads where three significant rivers flow into Connecticut River (the Westfield, the Chicopee, and the Mill). Springfield's history is long, illustrious, and well-chronicled. It was one of the United States' most important precision manufacturing and defense centers until its relatively recent deindustrialization, which was catalyzed by the government's controversial closure of the Springfield Armory during the Vietnam War. (In 1777, General George Washington and Henry Knox personally selected that site for the United States' Federal Arsenal.) After nearly 30 years of decline, Springfield has since about 2006 experienced a cultural and economic resurgence, catalyzed by billions of dollars in private and public investment, including the funded construction of the United States' first high-speed bullet-train, known as the Knowledge Corridor intercity rail line as well as a sharp decreases in crime and new festivals that have renewed the city's traditionally robust civic pride. Springfield itself features international tourist attractions like the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Springfield Armory National Historic Site; it also features the Dr. Seuss Memorial, Augustus Saint Gaudens's outdoor masterpiece, The Puritan, and five world-class art, science, and history museums at the Quadrangle. Forest Park, a