The Simpsons creator Matt Groening was born in Portland, Oregon and he’s been pretty cagey about where the Springfield from the show really is.  It’s pretty much a running gag on the show and they purposefully try to hide which Springfield it might actually be.  (Springfield’s are all over the place, Massachusetts, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, etc, etc…)

I am all in on the Springfield is Springfield, Oregon and Shelbyville, (the snooty Springfield neighbor in the show) is Eugene, Oregon.  Eugene is right next to Springfield, (to the west, just like the show) and in just the short time we were here there was a column in the local paper with the Mayor of Eugene apologizing for derogatory (and snooty) comments made by a Eugene City Councilman and encouraging a better relationship between the two towns.  It was so Shelbyville.

We’ve been camped out in Coburg, a tiny little town about 5 minutes from Springfield and Eugene. The area is pretty rural and really nice, although a bit Oregon Duck centric, (read, crazy) but at this time in the spring it’s just too wet to get much done outside or see much of the area. Most of the places we’d like to visit are still closed for the season. Looking forward to May.