Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston.

The name originates with native Americans in the Massachusetts Bay area (from the language of the Algonquian nation). It translates roughly as "at the great hill" or "great mountain place".

In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. The phrase "witch hunt", commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history.

On October 12, 2017, Salem, Massachusetts added another spooky distinction to its resume when it unveiled "Ouijazilla", the world's largest Ouija board, in the heart of the Salem Common. Clocking in at approximately 9,000 pounds, and measuring 3,168 square feet, "Ouijazilla" is large enough to park five, full-size 18-wheelers on it. Even the planchet--the piece normally moved around a Ouija board--is massive, weighing roughly 400 pounds.

Though led by Samuel Adams and his Sons of Liberty and organized by John Hancock, the names of many of those involved in the Boston Tea Party remain unknown. Thanks to their Native American costumes, only one of the tea party culprits, Francis Akeley, was arrested and imprisoned.

Massachusetts is most commonly known as "The Bay State" or "The Old Bay State" in reference to the Cape Cod Bay where early settlements were made and to the Massachusetts Bay Company given a royal charter in 1629 to promote settlement of the new land "from sea to shining sea."

Plymouth is the oldest town in Massachusetts, whether you're measuring by incorporation date or settlement date. It was first established in 1620 by the Pilgrims, who sailed from England on the famed Mayflower.

The first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, where the settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season.

None of the "witches" put to death in the Salem Witch trials were burned at the stake. All those executed were hanged but one, Giles Cory, who was pressed to death. Several others died in prison, including Sarah Osborne, Roger Toothaker, Lyndia Dustin, and Ann Foster.

The fragrant, delicate mayflower (Epigaea regens) has been on the endangered list since 1925. Digging one up in Massachusetts is punishable with a $50 fine.