In 1998 the National Park Service conducted a reconnaissance study to determine if the Connecticut Valley met the requirements of a Nation Historic Corridor. A national historic corridor is a region that has geographic and cultural ties of a specific theme and spans a multi state geographic area. This study confimed that the Connecticut River Valley met the criterion based on it being the cradle of American Precision Manufacturing. Centering on the the two 19th century armories ,one private in Windsor VT. and the Federal Armory in Springfield MA., the manufacturing practices developed here would become known as THE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING SYSTEM or THE ARMORY SYSTEM and adopted all over the world. Although the study reccomended the creation of the Historic Corridor legislation has never been seriously attempted. Overlapping existing NPS sites and the need for four states to agree on a plan has hampered the effort. This story is imbedded in our national history and is an important unique American Story that can help give us perspective on many current debates. Today one can visit established Museums related to this story along the Connecticut River Valley and learn this American Story and see where it has taken us. The museum has an original copy of the study.
Historical Society of Greenfield MA
Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
The Connecticut River Valley has a deep and rich history of machining technology. Many of the "movers and shakers" cross-pollinated their knowledge to different companies and industries. The following chart is a fascinating view of the interrelationships between many of these companies.
A Full-Size PDF of this chart is available HERE