MassachusettsA contributing property in the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. A National Historic Landmark comprising Armory Square, the fifty-four-acre hilltop administrative core of the Springfield Armory, the federal arsenal formally established in 1794. Arranged around an 8.75-acre parade ground, the complex holds nearly thirty brick buildings, mostly in a restrained functional idiom with Greek Revival and Federal detailing, ranging in date from the 1807 West Arsenal through World War II, unified by consistent scale, white trim, slate roofs, and a mid-19th-century iron fence. The Armory served the American Revolution as a supply depot, was the target of Shays' Rebellion in 1787, pioneered the interchangeability of parts, and for decades was the nation's principal manufacturer of military small arms. It is significant in military and industrial history and as the best-preserved administrative center of a major arsenal that reached its greatest growth in the first half of the 19th century.
Springfield Armory - West Arsenal
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Springfield Armory - West Arsenal is a landmark in Springfield, Hampden County. It is one of 3,654 landmarks documented in Hampden County, among 3,815 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 42.1071, -72.5799 near Springfield. The nearest cataloged historic site is Springfield Armory - Guard House (landmark), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Springfield Armory - Double Officers' Quarters, Springfield Armory - Walkway System, and Springfield Armory - Double Officers' Quarters Garage.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
The West Arsenal is one of the historic buildings of the Springfield Armory, the United States' first national armory, established in 1777 after George Washington approved the Springfield site on the recommendation of General Henry Knox. From 1794 until it closed in 1968 the armory was the primary manufacturer of U.S. military firearms and a cradle of industrial innovation, pioneering interchangeable parts and mass-production methods and producing arms from the Model 1795 musket to the M1 Garand and M14 rifles. The core of the complex is preserved as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, run by the National Park Service, while surrounding buildings house Springfield Technical Community College.
Sources: en.wikipedia.orgnps.gov
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