SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Armory completed its replacement and upgrades of 16 wayside exhibits that display the history of manufacturing of U.S. military firearms.
The project began in 2016 by updating a total of 16 wayside exhibits. They are displayed outside in full color and tell the story of the evolution of Springfield Armory and its impacts on the surrounding area from its establishment in 1794 to its closing in 1968.
The waysides can be found throughout the grounds of the Armory and Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield Technology Park, the former Water Shops, and the Quabbin Reservoir.
History includes the stories of Master Armorer Erskin Allen, Otto-Helmut von Lossnitzer, a weapons designer for Mauser, and of the family life when Army personnel lived on the Armory grounds. An area of the Quabbin Reservoir was used to test powerful weapons such as he M-60 machine gun, the M-14 rifle, and several large-caliber aircraft cannons.
The wayside at the Quabbin Reservoir can be found along the trail at Gate 52.
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