In 1846, Windsor Vermont gun-makers Robbins, Kendall and Lawrence took the bold step of bidding on a government contract for rifles with interchangeable parts. They were running a small shop, using a combination of machinery and hand-crafting. The new contract, for 10,000 rifles, would require more workers, more machinery, and larger quarters. On the south side of Mill Brook, they constructed a handsome, four-story brick armory building.
Using and improving upon the latest machinery available, the tiny firm grew rapidly, attracting the best designers and machinists from throughout the Connecticut River valley. They soon earned international acclaim for the quality of their guns and the efficiency of their machine tools. Although the firm of Robbins & Lawrence foundered within about a decade, the mechanics and inventors they trained spread across the country, taking the machines and the concept of interchangeability, along with their inventive spirit, to other towns and other industries. In Windsor, the cradle of precision manufacturing, the original 1846 armory building still stands today, housing the American Precision Museum, founded in 1966.
The building is a classic example of mid-19th century factory architecture, constructed of handmade brick with interior timber framing.
The adjacent Mill Brook provided the water power to run the machinery, diverted to a mill race and water wheel in the basement. The railroad came to Windsor in 1849, bringing a steam engine and a dependable source of fuel, coal, to supplement the waterpower.
The 1846 Robbins and Lawrence Armory and Machine Shop was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, based on its cultural significance and architectural integrity.
From the Statement of Significance: Erected in 1846, the Robbins and Lawrence Armory and Machine Shop is an excellent example of 19th century American industrial architecture. During the 1840s and 1850s the company designed and manufactured machine tools that accelerated the industrial revolution by improving the production of interchangeable parts, thus stimulating the growth of mass production.
In 1987, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated the building an international Mechanical Engineering Historic Site, and the museum's machine tool collection an International Mechanical Engineering Heritage Collection. From their statement:
In fulfilling a contract for 25,000 U.S. Army rifles (Model 1841) and a like quantity for the British government, Robbins and Lawrence were the first to achieve interchangeability of parts on a fully practical level, contributing greatly to all subsequent mass production of machine products. This was made possible by the systematic improvement and refinement of existing standard and special-purpose machine tools, enabling them to perform with the close-limit precision essential for "repeatability" and thus interchangeability (see the American Precision Museum). Simultaneously the firm introduced the milling machine and the turret lathe into routine commercial usage for production manufacturing.
In 2001 it was designated an official project of Save America's Treasures a public-private partnership between the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The building is one of 17 National Historic Landmarks and one of 8 official projects of Save America's Treasures in Vermont.