'Simpsons' Creator Matt Groening Finally Reveals Springfield's Real-Life Inspiration

In the two plus decades since its premiere, the true location of The Simpsons' hometown of Springfield has never been revealed. The mystery soon developed into a running joke on the show as characters would divulge completely contrary geographic information about the town, all but cementing the fact that the Springfield of The Simpsons wasn't a real place. It was every place.

A new quote from Simpsons creator Matt Groening doesn't exactly change that but he does reveal, for what is likely the first time, which specific Springfield the one in the show is based on. And if you think we're going to offer up that info before the jump, you're out of your animated mind.

Groening was talking to Smithsonian Magazine (via The High Definite) when he said the following:

Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show "Father Knows Best" took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, "This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield." And they do.

The reporter then followed up asking if that was the first time he'd ever officially revealed that information:

I don't want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it's Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, "Yup, that's right."

The Simpsons Springfield Wikipedia entry has the following to say on the subject of Springfield's location:

The geography of the town and its surroundings are flexible, changing to address whatever an episode's plot calls for. Springfield's location is impossible to determine; the show is deliberately evasive on the subject, providing contradictory clues and impossible information about an actual geographic location.

Groening's admission doesn't change that. The Simpsons are not from Oregon. It's just a fun piece of trivia we can now add to the longest running sitcom in American history.