The "Town Common" or "East Common" was first laid out in its present size and shape in 1666. Because it was common ground, anyone, living in the area, could let their animals graze there. During the next 200 years, "The Common" underwent several "face lifts" including such changes as fences or hedges around the perimeter and church and school buildings built on its interior. In 1866, on its 200th birthday and after all the buildings had been removed, Colonel Edward Parsons laid out the common as we see it today, with its walkways and the fountain.
At the eastern end of the common there are several monuments and memorials honoring the town’s part in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. At the Gazebo, near the western end of the common, are monuments related to the town’s first Meeting House, built in 1702, and first School House, built in 1740.
The town common was the site of several historic Revolutionary War events. Minutemen trained here before marching to Boston on April 20, 1775. It was also an encampment site along the "Knox Trail" in the winter of 1775-1776 when cannon, captured from the British at Fort Ticonderoga, passed through town on the way to the defense of Boston. In addition, the common was the site of an October 1777 encampment of Hessian soldiers who had been captured at the "Battle of Saratoga" and were being marched to Boston to be sent back to Germany.
In the winter of 1786-1787 West Springfield’s Captain Luke Day and his 400 "Regulators" confronted General Lincoln on the common during the final local battle of "Shays’ Rebellion". This uprising is now recognized as one of the pivotal events leading to the framing of the United States Constitution, with its emphasis on a strong Federal government.
These days the common is used for a variety of different functions including summer concerts, art exhibits, craft fairs, historical reenactments and holiday celebrations.