Why This Site in Central Massachusetts is So Important to History

If history and space travel intrigue you, you might not know about this significant event that happened in 1926 at this Massachusetts site.

The event changed the course of aviation and rocketry, and is now a National Historic Landmark.

If you drive to the central Massachusetts town of Auburn, you will find the site where Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world's successful liquid-fueled rocket at the former Asa Ward Farm at 20 Upland Street.

Inspired at an early age by the idea of building a rocket to the moon, Goddard developed his ideas in his laboratory in Auburn, and with the help of Charles Lindbergh, secured funding for the research through the Guggenheim Foundation.

According to nps.gov, Goddard had over 214 patents, and "another grant from the Smithsonian Institution enabled Goddard to move his laboratory to Roswell, New Mexico, where on December 30, 1930, a rocket achieved an altitude of 2,000 feet and a speed of 500 miles per hour."   This was unheard of, and later made a significant contribution to the U.S. rocket research and space exploration programs.

In 1959, NASA renamed the Space Flight Center in Maryland as the Goddard Space Flight Visitor Center, in honor of Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the rocket pioneer born in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Goddard is credited with ushering in the Space Age, and setting the stage for space travel.

If you are looking for the actual site in Auburn, it sits on the Pakachoag Golf Course, where you can find a granite obelisk commemorating the site and achievement of Dr. Goddard.

The father of space travel worked in our own backyard, and thanks to Dr. Goddard, New England made a major contribution to the world.