Home » Treasures from Our West: Firearms Factory
Treasures from Our West: Firearms factory. 1991.19.1-3

Treasures from Our West: Firearms Factory

Originally featured in Points West in Summer 2008

Firearms Factory, Exhibit in the Cody Firearms Museum

Upon independence, the United States was an agrarian society with individual craftsmen supplying the needs of the farming populace. Within half a century, however, factories were taking over the bulk of the manufacturing of goods from textiles to guns.

Treasures from Our West: Firearms factory. 1991.19.1-3

During the late nineteenth century, the firearms industry was responsible for many of the design innovations that made modern manufacturing methods possible. Interchangeable parts, in particular, meant a firearms owner could replace a cylinder or a stock without having to purchase a brand new gun. Certainly, many of the machines still in use today have their origin in the firearms factories of that period.

Firearms factory replica in the Cody Firearms Museum. Gift of Savage Arms Company. 1991.19.1–3

Post 011

Written By

Nancy McClure avatar

Nancy McClure

Nancy now does Grants & Foundations Relations for the Center of the West's Development Department, but was formerly the Content Producer for the Center's Public Relations Department, where her work included writing and updating website content, publicizing events, copy editing, working with images, and producing the e-newsletter Western Wire. Her current job is seeking and applying for funding from government grants and private foundations. In her spare time, Nancy enjoys photography, reading, flower gardening, and playing the flute.

You May Also Like