FIRST: President of the United States - Springfield, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 06.533 W 072° 34.708
18T E 700209 N 4664703
A plaque in memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States, is located at the former entrance to the Springfield Armory at is located at 1 Armory Street, Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WMZKFK
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2018
Views: 1
A bronze plaque at the former entrance to the Springfield Armory at Garvey Hall is inscribed:
TO THE MEMORY OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF
THE AMERICAN ARMY
1775 — 1785
FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WHO ENDORSED THE LOCATION OF A
MAGAZINE AND LABORATORY AT SPRING-
FIELD IN 1777, PERSONALLY INSPECTED
THE WORKS ON THIS SITE IN 1789, AND
APPROVED SPRINGFIELD AS LOCATION
OF A NATIONAL ARMORY IN 1794
AND WHO THEREBY BECAME
THE FATHER OF
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
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.
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