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During Materials Week in Connecticut, April 15-19, 2002, the Hartford and Southern Connecticut Chapters of ASM International hope to designate a site in Connecticut as a national ASM Historical Landmark. We have submitted an application to Materials Park for consideration of the Eli Whitney Museum as a National Historical Landmark in 2002. Once approved, the site would be recognized during Materials Week with a plaque designating it as an ASM Historical Landmark. |
Two sites in Connecticut previously have been designated Historical Landmarks by ASM International: Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in 1976 and Waterbury Brass Company Mill in 1977.
HISTORICAL LANDMARKS DESIGNATION
In 1969, the ASM Historical Landmarks Designation was established to identify permanently the many sites and events that have played a prominent part in the discovery, development and growth of metals and metalworking. In 1987, the scope of this award was broadened to include all engineered materials.
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Nomination Form for Eli Whitney
Museum Site |
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Date of this nomination: |
12/23/01 |
| Name of Landmark | Eli Whitney Museum |
| Location: | 915
Whitney Avenue Hamden, CT 06517-4036 PH 203.777.1833 FAX 203.777.1229 |
| Date of Construction (or other significant date): | The Museum is located by the Mill River, which powered the Armory that Eli Whitney constructed in 1798. |
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Materials significance of this landmark or event, locally, nationally and/or internationally. |
On this site in 1798, Eli Whitney established the first private armory funded by a federal government contract. Whitney adaped the concepts of division of labor articulated in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and developed in French and Swedish armories to the young American colonies. He Established the capacity of corporate production. He produced the most technically complex product of his day, the musket, with the combined effort of 65 men, each of whom had less than the full skill of a gunsmith. |
| Historical/cultural significance of this landmark or event locally, nationally, or internationally. | Whitney is often credited with establishing the idea of interchangeable parts. The idea is less important, less impressive than the process of production. Whitney clearly established the power of investing in machinery. He established that the configuration of machines with jigs and fixtures was as important as the form of the machine itself. He established that private manufacturers would revolutionize and invent more consistently than public manufacturers. He established the American System of Manufacturing and an American style of invention. |
| What features or characteristics set this proposed landmark or event apart from others? | Whitney's Armory won a place in American hearts and
textbooks in part because it has always been a beautiful site in
gracious harmony with nature. It retains that beauty.
Whitney realized that his Armory became a university of the practical arts. The Museum maintains that tradition with experimental building programs that explore the origins of invention. |
| Does the original structure survive, wholly or in part? | A barn, a boarding house, a charcoal storage shed survive. More important the fall of water that attracted Whitney is still a central feature of the site. |
| Who is the present owner? | The Eli Whitney Museum is an independent not-for-profit corporation. |
| What is the attitude to proposed designation as an ASM Historical Landmark? | The Museum would be honored to be considered for ASM Historical Landmark designation. |
| What is the situation in regard to access to the landmark by the public? | The Museum id open to the public 305 days a year. It hosts school programs on many of those days and an additional 50 days. Visitors pruduce over 60,000 projects each year. |
| Where would the plaque be located? | It would either be cast into a new center walk that will be part of a current building campaign or it would be hung next to the main entrance. |
| What contribution did this landmark or event make toward the discovery, development, or growth of the field of materials? | Eli Whitney underscored the critical interplay between tools, materials and hands. He was the father of the specialized tool making that established American preeminence in materials handling. |
| Suggested citation of not more than thirty words. | On this site between 1798 and 1825, Eli Whitney established an American tradition of precision production guided by jigs and fixtures and constant innovation. |
| Please attach a photograph of landmark. | 
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| List all attachments furnished. |
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| Submitted by: | Arnie Grot: chair@asm-hartford.org Dave Shaner |