Water Shops Armory
About this property
The Water Shops Armory, located at 1 Allen Street, was a part of the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. Developed beginning in 1857, it served as the heavy manufacturing complex for the armory. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The main armory stretched over two city blocks in what was known as the Hill Shops (where the National Historic Site now is accompanied by the Springfield Technical Community College which occupies most of the 22 original buildings). About one mile (1.6 km) south, on the Mill River, the United States Army built the Water Shops where the heavy metal forging and machining was done as well as gun stock shaping. It was located there to take advantage of the water power supplied by the Mill River. The complex consists of several buildings, most of them connected into one large grouping, set in part astride the river below the dam that impounds Watershops Pond. When the armory was established in 1794, the Mill River was where it established a series of early workshops, at three different falls. In the 1850s, these facilities were reorganized into a single site, with the first of the present buildings built in 1857. Over the next four years, additional buildings augmented the capabilities of the site, giving it sufficient capacity to meet the armory's heavy manufacturing needs. The dam and canal were built to raise the level of Watershops Pond, and new turbines were installed to provide 300 horsepower for the facilities. The Water Shops complex is now a privately owned industrial site. The main building was severely damaged on Friday June 17, 1988, when a fire destroyed part of the top floors. The building was built in two different sections: the first was built in 1858, and the second section, which paralleled Allen Street and was built in 1901, is where the fire happened. National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Water Shops Armory
This page lists Water Shops Armory. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Battles
Questions about this property
When was Water Shops Armory listed on the National Register?
Water Shops Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 3, 1980.
What type of historic resource is Water Shops Armory?
Water Shops Armory is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Water Shops Armory?
The period of significance for Water Shops Armory is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Water Shops Armory?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Water Shops Armory will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Hampden County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Hampden County.
Explore HampdenCounty ›More historic places in Massachusetts
Browse all historic places in Massachusetts.
View Massachusettshistoric sites ›Massachusetts history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Massachusettshistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Water Shops Armory will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.