Photo, Print, Drawing Robbins & Lawrence Armory, 196 Main Street, Windsor, Windsor County, VT Photos from Survey HAER VT-39

Title

• Robbins & Lawrence Armory, 196 Main Street, Windsor, Windsor County, VT

Other Title

• American Precision Museum

Names

• Historic American Engineering Record, creator
• Robbins & Lawrence Company
• Windsor Manufacturing Company
• Jones, Lamson & Company
• Windsor Electric Light Company
• Central Vermont Public Service Company
• American Precision Museum
• Robbins, Samuel E.
• Lawrence, Ricard S.
• Kendall, Nicanor
• Battison, Edwin A.
• Marston, Christopher H., project manager
• Johnson, John P., historian
• Lawless, Ann, sponsor
• Carpenito, Jessica, delineator
• Osorio, German, delineator
• Sardadi, Arvi, delineator
• Wickham, Russell C., delineator
• Gorokhov, Pavel, delineator
• Lowe, Jet, photographer

Created / Published

• Documentation compiled after 1968

Headings

• -  waterwheels
• -  water power
• -  gears
• -  belt-driven machinery
• -  armories
• -  factories
• -  factory windows
• -  wood decking
• -  wood roof trusses
• -  industrial museums
• -  American System of Manufacturing
• -  Vermont--Windsor County--Windsor

Latitude / Longitude

• 43.47481,-72.389554

Notes

• -  Significance: The period of significance for the private Armory is 1846-1856. The factory was constructed in 1846 and was the site of innovation and invention in the manufacture of firearms and machine tools under the ownership of Samuel Robbins and Richard Lawrence until the company bankruptcy in 1856. The Armory is significant in the areas of architecture, engineering and industry. The architecture is an excellent example of antebellum New England multi-story, brick, factory design that incorporated fire-resistant construction techniques, as well as a decorative cupola and rifle weathervane. The engineering is a good example of the design of a mid-century waterpower system, with a breast-type waterwheel, that was typical for mill seats in New England prior to the introduction of stationary steam engines. The Armory was a pioneer in the development of interchangeable parts for the manufacture of firearms for the federal government. The in situ remains of the waterwheel pit, millwork and headrace are a case study of a waterpower system of a mid-nineteenth century factory in New England. Documentary research and archeological evidence from this industrial site adds to our understanding of similar factories and waterpower systems constructed at this time.
• -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1151
• -  Survey number: HAER VT-39
• -  Building/structure dates: 1846-1856 Initial Construction
• -  Building/structure dates: 1865-1870 Initial Construction
• -  Building/structure dates: 1870-1886 Initial Construction
• -  Building/structure dates: 1902- ca. 1935 Initial Construction
• -  Building/structure dates: ca. 1935- 1966 Initial Construction
• -  Building/structure dates: 1966 Initial Construction
• -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000796

Medium

• Photo(s): 20
• Measured Drawing(s): 12
• Data Page(s): 48
• Photo Caption Page(s): 2

Call Number/Physical Location

• HAER VT-39

Source Collection

• Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

Repository

• Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Control Number

• vt0163

Rights Advisory

• No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html

Online Format

• image
• pdf