Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

The US Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon performed at Springfield Armory NHS in May 2005.

SO MUCH TO DO!! Begin your visit to the site of the nation’s first (& last) armory by finding the great Iron Gate on Federal Street through which generations have passed. The Museum, in the Main Arsenal building, may be found by driving through the Springfield Technical Community College campus on the Historic Landmark grounds. Follow the signs & perimeter road to the free parking (Directions above). You'll find activities and Scheduled Events on the website (see Operating Hours & Seasons as well as Things To Do above).

Displayed in the Museum is just over a tenth of the unmatched collection of historic American military firearms (second in size only to the British collection at the Royal Armouries). Springfield Armory-made shoulder arms and other weapons form a unique national reference collection (known as the Benton Small Arms Collection) housed on-site, established in 1862. At the Museum, you have before you early American industrial tools & machinery used at the Armory to create interchangeable muskets nearly two centuries ago. Among them is the only surviving 1822 Blanchard stock-shaping lathe and a three-tenths scale working model that you can see cutting a miniature muskets stock! A colorful 18-minute orientation film introduces you to nearly two centuries of Armory history. Youngsters may also find themselves challenged by our Junior Ranger Program (where dress-ups may be found) or by working the double life-sized flintlock Springfield musket model.

Using this website, you’ll find on the HOMEPAGE our Special Events schedule, educational programs  and our new ground-breaking education websites  for both curriculum and historical information.

And for those who wish to know more about the historic Springfield Armory, its people and weapons production, see, Springfield Armory History & Weapons questions under Quicklinks on the HOMEPAGE.

The Historic Site is FREE year-round [the Museum is closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day], and we look forward to your visit. Enjoy your trip!