The Springfield Armory - Springfield, MA - Engineering Landmarks on Waymarking.com

In Springfield, up the river valley bluff is a collection of buildings within a rod iron and brick fence that once was the Springfield Armory (also known as the U.S. Armory and Arsenal).

The Springfield Armory was an important place in not only manufacturing of U.S. military rifles, it is an important piece in the U.S. Industrial Revolution. What is presented here is only a summary of the history and importance of this location. For more, click on the web sites provided for the ASME brouchure and the National Park Service web site for the National Historic Site and museum information.

The location is along State Street, and bisected by Federal Street. The eastern part is now a high tech industrial park. The western part is where the Springfield Technical Community College and the National Historic Site museum is located. Buildings on campus data back to the early 1800s. Unfortunately, some buildings were lost when the college expanded; however, many buildings are still standing, with interpretive signs sprinkled about. To enter the western campus where the college and museum is, from State Street, turn onto Federal Street at a traffic light, then take the first left through the gates. The AMSE Engineering Landmark plaque is situated by the front entrance to the building facing the entrance, which is part of the technical college. To go to the museum, turn immediately left after entering through the gate, then follow the road to the rear of the campus to the Main Arsenal building.

The plaque has the following embossed on it:

"National Historic Engineering Landmark

The Springfield Armory (1794 - 1964) 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"

The museum in the Main Arsenal has two sections. The section on the right has exhibits on the manufacturing development. The dominant artifact is the Blanchard Lathe, a wooden-framed structure that has a plaque, a small working wooden model, and a video showing how it works. The lathe makes gun stocks using the shape of a blank that is installed. Other exhibits show the progress in the design, manufacturing and testing of arms. The section on the left is a collection of fire arms, including an example of how guns were stacked together such that they reminded poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's new wife of an organ, which inspired Longfellow to write a poem - which can be read beside the exhibit.

It is also worth asking the expert ranger on the subject. I happened to have met him - he was a wealth of information and provided much to think about.

The museum is still free, but check the web site for times and dates that it is open.

The brochure states the following developments in addition to the plaque:

- The first precision lock musket was manufactured in 1842 (adopted for use in the military in 1846).
- "The tape-lock musket, one of the early weapons with a rifled barrel and using the old 'minie ball' ammunition, went into production in 1855"
- "The first bolt action- magazine rifle came from the Armory shops in 1892. It was improved and manufactured here as the well-known Krag Jorgensen."
- "In 1903 one of the most widely-known rifles ever to be manufactured was ... the famous Springfield [Rifle]..."
- The Armory was also well known for semi- and automatic-rifles, first developed by John C. Garand.

According to the brochure, the Springfield Armory was created by an Act of Congress on April 2, 1794. George Washington, desiring to establish an armory to standardize the manufacture of weapons and bullets, visited Springfield, and at the recommendation of General Henry Knox, established the Armory there (along with Harper's Ferry in then Virginia). The Armory was an important supplier of arms in all the U.S. Wars through Vietnam. The facilities were finally closed in 1978, the last of the U.S. Armories to close.

In addition to contributions to firearms and military, the brochure stated the following contributions to industry as a whole:

"1. Continuous automatic parkerizing process
2. Horizontal and verticle slab broaching
3. Barrel rifling broaching
4. Continuous heat treat process for rifle barrels (including
special equipment design)
5. Chrome plating process for rifle barrel bores and chambers
6. Ultra high speed machining of wood using carbine tools
7. Special heat treat process for increasing working life of
drop forge dieblocks
8. Salt bath process for metal heat treating
9. China wood oil process for wood preservation
10. Dichromate process for stainless steel
11. Blanchard eccentric lathe for wood turning
12. Multi-station, vertical, wood turning lathe
13. Application of refractory or exotic metals
14. Applicability of numerical controlled machine tools to
small lot and pilot production"

The location was also important as it was the site of the bloodiest part of "Shay's Rebbellion." But that is for another waymark.

Come down for a visit and learn about rifles and the development of American precision manufacturing.

Location: One Armory Square, Suite 2 Springfield MA 01105-1299 Type of structure/site: U.S. Military Factory Date of Construction: 1794 Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Thomas Blanchard, John C. Garand, and others. Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]

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