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National Historic Site · MA

Springfield Armory National Historic Site

For nearly two centuries, the U.S. Armed Forces and American industry looked to Springfield Armory for innovative engineering and superior firearms. Springfield Armory National Historic Site commemorates the critical role of the nation’s first armory by preserving and interpreting the world's largest historic US military small arms collection, along with historic archives, buildings and landscape.

nps.gov ↗

Photos

The Main Arsenal
The Main Arsenal at Springfield Armory National Historic Site was first built in 1850 and today houses the park's amazing collection of historic firearms.
Three Park Volunteers, holding historic firearms, on the grounds of the Armory against a cloudy sky.
Park Volunteers give a blank firing demonstration of historic firearms.
The tower of the Armory with the flag at full mast blowing in the wind on a cloudy day.
Following the closure of the Springfield Armory in 1968, public action would drive Congress to create Springfield Armory National Historic Site in the late 1970s.
A double musket rack holding 645 Springfield US Model 1861 rifle muskets.
Named after a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Organ of Muskets consists of 647 Model 1861 Rifle Muskets. This structure would have held 1100 muskets when fully stocked and would have been one of many that filled the Arsenal during the Civil War.
The Springfield Armory Main Arsenal on a fall day, with blue skies and the flag at half staff.
Springfield Armory began the production of small arms in 1794 and continued until its close in 1968. In 1978, the Armory reopened under the direction of the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.

Activities

  • Cultural Demonstrations
  • Guided Tours
  • Historic Weapons Demonstration
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Park Film
  • Museum Exhibits
  • Shopping
  • Bookstore and Park Store