Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
New England Road Trip➤
Patty and I hit the road again in April 2023. We planned to visit a friend in Rhode Island and attend a meetup of the National Park Travelers Club in Massachusetts. Along the way we hit several other National Park Units and historic sites. On the way home, we stopped at the Springfield Armory.
Springfield Armory➤
During the American Revolution, this site in Springfield, Massachusetts served as a strategic arsenal, storing and maintaining arms and ammunition for the Continental Army. Militias successfully defended it during Shay’s Rebellion in 1787. In 1794, President Washington selected the site for America’s first National Armory. For the next 174 years, Springfield Armory designed and produced weapons that armed the nation’s military in every conflict the United States engaged in. Springfield Armory is also notable for its innovative technology that heralded America’s industrial revolution. In the early 1800s, the armory stood as the largest manufacturing facility in the nation.
Today, the Springfield Armory National Historic Site preserves and interprets this history in its original buildings. Co-owned and managed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Springfield Technical Community College, and the National Park Service, this national historic landmark houses one of the most extensive firearms collections in the world.
Before visiting, I’d read The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman, a work of historical fiction set in the Springfield Armory during WWII. That novel gave context to my visit and helped me to appreciate the site. We watched the park’s movie, talked to a ranger, looked at the museum displays and walked around the campus.
New England Posts➤
- Mark Twain
- Roger Williams
- Slater Mill
- New Bedford Whaling
- Cape Cod: Nauset Marsh Trail
- Cape Cod: Three Sisters Lights
- Cape Cod: Nauset Light
- Pilgrim Memorial State Park
- Minute Man: Hartwell
- Minute Man: Battle Road
- Springfield Armory
Location: 1 Armory St #2, Springfield, Massachusetts
Designation: National Historic Site
Date designated/established: October 26, 1974
Date of my visit: April 16, 2023
