First: National Armory - Springfield, MA - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

A bronze plaque at the former entrance to the Springfield Armory at Garvey Hall was placed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is inscribed:

NATIONAL HISTORIC MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LANDMARK

THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY (1794 — 1968) WAS THE
FIRST NATIONAL ARMORY IN THE UNITED STATES.

IT WAS AN OUTSTANDING, INNOVATIVE CENTER FOR THE
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF MILITARY SMALL ARMS.

AMONG ITS NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS ARE THE
BLANCHARD LATHE (1819) FOR THE MASS PRODUCTION
OF GUN-STOCKS, THE SPRINGFIELD RIFLES, AND THE
GARAND SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS — 1980

In 1777, during the Revolutionary War, General Henry Knox recommended to General George Washington the construction of a Federal Arsenal at Springfield. The site was chosen because of its strategic location on the Connecticut River. Construction was completed in 1778. The arsenal produced small arms, repaired small arms, and made fuses, cartridges, wagons, and saddles. It also was the major location for the storage of gunpowder and other war materials.

After the war, in 1794, General Knox, now the Secretary of War, recommended to President Washington that the arsenal become the Nation's First National Armory. The Armory was closed in 1968. Several of the buildings were converted into a museum and others became part of the newly established Springfield Technical Community College. The museum preserves the one of the best examples of US military shoulder arms, pistols, machine guns, edged weapons, and production machinery.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers named the Springfield Armory a National Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1980. According to their website:

"Springfield Armory was an outstanding machining center for the design and mass production, employing notable engineers such as Thomas Blanchard (1788-1864), Thomas Warner, and Cyrus Buckland."

"Blanchard's lathe (1819) could duplicate irregular-shaped parts, specifically wooden gun stocks that previously had to be hand carved. It could produce two and then nearly a dozen rifle butts at a time. This technology was applied to many products such as ax handles and shoe lasts and was the predecessor to metal machine tools such as the turret lathe."

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