Park 10: Springfield Armory National Historic Site and Quinebaug-Shetucket National Heritage Corridor

7/15/12. On our last day of our weekend adventure in Massachusetts we set off for Springfield which was close to Amherst, where we were staying with Catherine.



Entrance to the Armory

We arrived at the Springfield Armory, and after a drive around the property, past the community college of the premises, we found the entrance. We were energetically greeted by one of the park rangers in the visitor's center.


Loading Dock in Front Foyer

We watched a well-made video about the history of the armory and the technological advances of the various armaments. Next we toured the small museum and displays, then joined the ranger for a presentation.


Original Blanchard Lathe to make the gun stocks

We spent some time enjoying the books and puzzles in the bookstore, then headed back to Amherst. Even though the Armory was small, the qulaity of the exhibits were excellent and the ranger was very passionate and enthusiastic.

When we left the Springfield Amory, we were relatively close to the ♠ so we took a leisurely drive through the area and stopped at Sturbridge Village which is the National Passport stamp location.

The entrance to the village was beautifully decked out in American flags, possibly from the 4th of July festivities. Although we didn't go through Sturbridge Village because we've been there other times, we did enjoy the gift shop a great deal - buying fabric squares made on the premises as well homemade fudge (to eat on our way home to NJ).

The area was lovely and a quintessential New England river area and we are looking forward to exploring more of this area as it extends throughout the region.