American Precision Museum
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Robbins and Lawrence Armory and Machine Shop | |
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| Location | S. Main St., Windsor, Vermont |
|---|---|
| Built | 1846 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | No Style Listed |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000796 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966 |
The American Precision Museum,is located in the renovated 1846 Robbins & Lawrence factory in Windsor, Vermont. The building is said to be the first factory in the US to make precision interchangeable parts. As such, the claim is made that Robbins and Lawrence gave birth to the precision tool industry. The museum has the largest collection of historically significant machine tools in the nation.
A “machine tool” is a machine which makes parts to other machines, such as screws or gun stocks, largely without a skilled craftsman doing the precision work. Instead, a machine operator controls the machine as it does the precision work. Examples of precision machine tools are the lathe, the milling machine, and the drill press.
The museum is open daily from 10am until 5pm Memorial Day Weekend through October. Admission is free on Sundays.[2]
Current exhibit
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the museum opened two new exhibits to be on display in 2012 and 2013 from Memorial Day weekend through October. Full Duty: The Civil War Collection of Howard Coffin presents the first-ever exhibition from the private collection of Vermont’s foremost Civil War historian. The exhibit contains more than 100 artifacts and weaves a vivid story about Vermonters’ response to the crisis and their role in preserving the Union.
Arming the Union: Gunmakers in Windsor, Vermont uncovers the surprising influence of the machine tool company, Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, which operated out of the Robbins & Lawrence Armory. Together with other Northern gunmakers, they made 1.5 million rifles in the span of about three years. The majority of those weapons were made on machinery designed and produced by LG&Y.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "American Precision Museum". Retrieved 11 July 2012.
External links
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