It is named after the Connecticut River Valley city of Springfield, Massachusetts.

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1.

Portage Lakes Career Center is the vocational school for Springfield.

[6] Springfield's original high school had been annexed by Akron in 1929, requiring construction of the older building of the former high school which was replaced in 2014 in the same location.

That building was also recently demolished, and a new school was built upon its site.