Page 22 - BusinessWest April 27, 2026

Alan
Amelinckx
stands by a
map tracing
the path of
Col. Henry
Knox’s Noble
Train of
Artillery.
Springfield Armory
Events Will Capture the Landmark’s Place in Country’s Development
Alan Amelinckx says there is one overriding goal for the
Springfield Armory National Historic Site and its many pro-
grams and events to commemorate the nation’s 250th birth-
day — to educate the public about the importance of that location,
and this region, to the birth and development of the country.
Many people know the story of the Armory, which was closed
in 1968, with many of its buildings becoming home to Springfield
Technical Community College, said Amelinckx, program manager
for Interpretation and Education at the Armory, adding quickly that
too many do not. And a year’s worth of exhibits and programs will
address that reality.
“We really wanted to focus on this site and its role in the Ameri-
can Revolution,” Amelinckx said, adding that not only was the
site chosen for what became known as the Continental Arsenal
of Springfield, and later the Springfield Armory, but it was also
known for innovation and manufacturing milestones, such as the
first real assembly line. It was a site through which Col. Henry
Knox passed with his Noble Train of Artillery — it was Knox who
suggested to Gen. George Washington that the property on a hill
overlooking the growing city of Springfield would be the ideal site
for an arsenal — and it was the site of Shays’s Rebellion in 1786.
“This site was on a hill, it was easily defensible, and Knox liked
the fact that, while it was on the Connecticut River, British war-
ships could not attack the site,” Amelinckx noted, citing the dam
in Enfield as a barrier to those ships. “It was on the Boston Post
Road, so that made it a convenient spot.
“Meanwhile, Shays’s Rebellion was one of the big turning points
in American history,” he went on. “The founding fathers realized
that the Articles of the Confederation weren’t working, and they
needed a stronger central government.”
To educate and entertain the public about all this and more, the
Armory, as noted, has a full year of exhibits and programs on tap for
the 250th.
These include a temporary exhibit at the Armory Museum which
includes a map tracing the Knox Trail as well as information about
how and why the Springfield site was chosen for the arsenal, said
Amelinckx, adding that there is also a French cannon within the
exhibit that is on display for the first time.
They also include programs late last year and earlier this year
commemorating the Knox Trail, including a recreation of the trek
through Springfield that drew more than 1,000 onlookers, as well
as a lecture on the Battle of Saratoga and a discussion earlier this
month titled “The Most Proper Spot in America.” Led by Armory
Curator Alex MacKenzie, it focused on the Continental Arsenal, why
the site in Springfield was chosen, and the arsenal’s contributions to
Staff Photo
American independence.
Other events include everything from an Independence Day cel-
ebration — visitors can watch the Springfield fireworks from the
Armory grounds — to a Heritage Pops Concert on July 25 featuring
a big band performance in front of the Springfield Armory Com-
mandant’s House, to Forging Freedom on Aug. 29, a day of re-enact-
ments and demonstrations celebrating American manufacturing.
Based on the strong turnouts for the Knox Trail recreation and
program on the Battle of Saratoga, Amelinckx said there is keen
interest on the events of the Revolutionary War period, and he
expects this to translate into stronger visitation numbers for the
Armory throughout the year and solid attendance at those upcoming
events.
“The interest is palpable,” he told BusinessWest. “Our events
are drawing people from across the region, but they’re also attract-
ing people who live in the area and have never been to the Armory.
There’s definitely a lot of interest in celebrating the 250th in this
area.” BW
—George O’Brien
“We really wanted
to focus on this
site and its role
in the American
Revolution.”
Museums >>Continued from page 20
the Museums’ exhibit for the 250th, slated to open
May 16, will have three historic themes, or time peri-
ods, with one centered on what Springfield was like
at the time of the Revolution, but with a focus on what
she called the “domestic side” — an approximate inte-
rior of a typical home from the 1770s.
“There will be slight inspiration from a Colonial-
era coffeehouse,” she said, “because, historically,
that’s where a lot of these discussions of revolutionary
ideas took place.”
A second component on the exhibit will be called
“Defining the Dictionary,” and it will focus on the revo-
lutionary (there’s that word again) Merriam-Webster
dictionary, the work of Noah Webster and the Merri-
am brothers, George and Charles. The company they
founded is still creating dictionaries today.
“As a young man, Noah Webster was one of the
few who were in a position to influence and help the
new nation figure itself out,” Kapp explained, adding
that this section of the exhibit will focus on the dic-
tionary and the “power of words.”
“Revolutionary ideas often come with revolution-
ary words and phrases that need to be recorded,” she
went on, adding that the exhibit will enable visitors to
explore the words of early America and see how the
work of Webster and the Merriam brothers helped
establish the American language.
Visitors will have the opportunity to guess the
definition of words like ‘macaroni’ (which was much
different 250 years ago than it is today), ‘unalienable,’
and ‘patriot.’
The third segment of the exhibit will focus on the
Industrial Revolution and how Springfield came to be
the home to countless innovations and inventions that
have had a profound impact worldwide, she said, list-
ing everything from the development of interchange-
able parts and the assembly line to ‘firsts’ that include
the Duryea automobile, the motorcycle, and the GB
aircraft.
And, like the other segments of the exhibit, this
one will be interactive, Kapp said, adding that visitors
will get an opportunity to work on a mini-assembly
line and handle interchangeable parts used in the
production of some of the vehicles on display at the
museum.
“Again, the foundation that we built off is that any-
one can be revolutionary,” she said. “And my goal is
that people walk away with an understanding that
these ideas and actions that we historians call revo-
lutionary were people thinking outside the box — and
we want to encourage them to do the same.” BW
—George O’Brien
22 APRIL 27, 2026
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