Springfield Armory National Historic Site

10,000 guns (1,500 on display)

1978 Springfield Armory National Historic Site opens

Springfield, MA

1794-1968

Long-barreled muskets of 1795
Springfield Model 1816
M1861
Krag-Jorgenson
Erskine Allin’s M1873 Trapdoor
Bolt action 1903 Springfield
M1 Garand
M14
M60 machine gun
Firearms donated by Presidents:
Kennedy, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Wilson
Many prototypes
Cutaway ‘skeletonized’ guns for instruction

1777 George Washington approves the site & establishes the Arsenal
1787 Shays’ Rebellion happens at the armory
1794 First national armory began manufacturing muskets
– 40 employees
– produced a few hundred 1795 Flintlock Muskets each year
1798 Watershops established on Mill River (to provide water power)
1818 the first replicating machines
1819 the first Blanchard Lathe
1843 “The Arsenal at Springfield” poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1862 Harpers Ferry armory is destroyed (Springfield is the only manufacturer)
1892 Krag-Jorgensen rifle is adopted
1903 Springfield M1903 rifle goes into service
1919-1953 John Garand was employed at the Springfield Armory until his retirement
1936 M1 Garand introduced (3.7 million produced)
1940 Main Arsenal (the current museum) Building 104 is completed
– for mass production of the M1 Garand
1941 John Garand gets Meritorious Civilian Service Award
During World War II, over 14,000 workers
– many women were the WOW, Women Ordnance Workers
April 1968 Factory closes
1974 Designated a National Historic Site
1978 Springfield Armory National Historic Site opens
the world’s largest collection of historic American military firearms
Year-round public programs, exhibits, and special events
Benton Small Arms Museum
Springfield Armory Historic Library
Armory Memorabilia Collection