Springfield Armory National Historic Site

The Springfield Armory was the primary manufacturer of small arms for the United States military from 1777 to 1968 — nearly two hundred years of American military history concentrated in a complex of brick buildings on a hill above the city centre. It produced the Springfield rifle of the Civil War, the Springfield 1903 used in both World Wars, and the M1 Garand that General Patton called "the greatest battle implement ever devised."

The main museum building holds the largest collection of historic military firearms in the United States. The centerpiece is the "Organ of Muskets" — the racks of 700 Civil War-era rifles stacked floor to ceiling that inspired Longfellow's poem. The grounds are peaceful, and the surrounding buildings include original 19th-century manufacturing structures still in remarkable condition. Admission is free as a National Park Service site.

things to do museum sight
A story
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the Springfield Armory in 1843 and was so struck by the racks of 10,000 muskets in the main hall that he wrote the poem "The Arsenal at Springfield" — one of the first American anti-war poems. He imagined the stacked rifles as a kind of cathedral organ whose notes were death. His wife Fanny, who accompanied him on the visit, suggested the subject.