Excerpt from the National Historic Landmark nomination for Coltsville

by James C. O’Connell and Bruce Clouette

 The Coltsville Historic District illustrates the important contributions to the development of the American economy and the improvements in manufacturing technology made by Samuel Colt (1814-1862) and the industrial enterprise he founded, Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company. Colt is renowned for developing an efficacious revolver design, revolutionizing personal firearms by eliminating the need to reload until five or six shots had been expended. His company drew upon the technological innovations of the firearms industry in New England to achieve an unprecedented level of mechanization and production. The Colt Fire Arms Company was a highly influential source of innovation in precision manufacturing and firearms design well into the 20^th century. The ultimate success of Samuel Colt’s enterprise was due to his being a trail-blazing innovator in business organization and marketing, characteristics of the company that lasted long after his death.

            As an entrepreneur, Colt put into place essential ingredients of the American manufacturing system: an innovative product, advanced manufacturing techniques, thorough mechanization, large-quantity production, successful marketing and distribution, and adept use of patents. Between Colt’s death in 1862 and the 1920s, the Colt Fire Arms Company attracted some of the most innovative talents in firearms manufacturing. Richard Gatling, John Browning, and John T. Thompson, inventors who gave their names to machine guns, were associated with the company. During both World War I and World War II, the Colt Fire Arms Company was one of the nation’s leading small-arms producers.

            The district not only tells the story of this important industrial enterprise, but it is an example of a planned industrial district, with reclaimed land, huge factory buildings, worker housing, and social and religious buildings. The landmark district recalls the contributions of the thousands of Colt workers whose labor sustained the company by including the factory buildings in which they worked and the homes in which large numbers of Colt workers lived. The listing also recognizes Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt (1826-1905), who led the company for almost 40 years after her husband’s death. Elizabeth Colt is important because she was responsible for deciding to rebuild the armory following the disastrous fire of 1864, she was in charge of the company when several key developments occurred (such as the Colt double-action revolvers and the association with John Browning), and she endowed the area with the church, parish house, and public park.