The Watertown Arsenal was a major American
arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
located on the northern shore of the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...
in
Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End.
Watertown ...
. The site is now registered on the
ASCE's
List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the US
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, and it is home to a park, restaurants, mixed use office space, and currently serves as the national headquarters for
athenahealth
Athenahealth (stylized as athenahealth) is a private American company that provides network-enabled services for healthcare and point-of-care mobile apps in the United States.
The company was founded in 1997 in San Diego and is now headquarte ...
.
History
The arsenal was established in 1816, on of land, by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
for the receipt, storage, and issuance of
ordnance
Ordnance may refer to:
Military and defense
*Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment.
**The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...
. In this role, it replaced the earlier
Charlestown Arsenal. The arsenal's earliest plan incorporated 12 buildings aligned along a north–south axis overlooking the river.
Alexander Parris
Alexander Parris (November 24, 1780 – June 16, 1852) was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parr ...
, later designer of
Quincy Market
Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1824 and 1826 and named in honor of mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is ...
, was architect. Buildings included a military store and arsenal, as well as shops and housing for officers and men. All were made of brick with slate roofs in the Federal style, and a high wall enclosed the compound. By 1819 all buildings were completed and occupied.
The arsenal's site, duties, and buildings grew gradually until the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, enlarging beyond the original quadrangle. During the war it greatly expanded to produce field and coastal gun carriages, and the war's impetus led to the quick construction of a large machine shop and smith shop built as contemporary factories, as well as a number of smaller buildings.
During the Civil War, a new commander's quarters was commissioned by then-Capt.
Thomas J. Rodman, inventor of the
Rodman gun
Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box.
The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...
. The lavish, , quarters would ultimately become one of the largest commander's quarters on any US military installation.
This mansion is now on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The expense ($63,478.65) was considered wasteful and excessive and drew a stern rebuke from Congress, which then promoted Rodman to brigadier general and sent him to command
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...
on the frontier in Illinois, where he built an even larger commander's quarters.
Activities and new construction at the Watertown Arsenal continued to gradually expand until the early 1890s.
Activities changed decisively in 1892 when Congress authorized modernization to gun carriage manufacturing. At this point the arsenal became a manufacturing complex rather than storage depot. A number of major buildings were constructed, which over time began to reflect typical industrial facilities rather than the earlier arsenal styles. In 1897 an additional were purchased, and a hospital built.
Scientific management
Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...
was implemented at the arsenal between 1908 and 1915. It was considered by the War Department as successful in saving money over the alternatives; but it was so hated by the work force that the Congress eventually overturned its use.
pp. 138–141
[.]
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the arsenal nearly tripled in size. Building #311 was then reported to be one of the largest steel-frame structures in the United States, sized to accommodate both very large gun carriages and the equipment used to construct them. Railroad tracks ran throughout the arsenal complex.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought an additional with existing industrial buildings, as the arsenal produced steel artillery pieces. In 1959–1960, a research nuclear reactor (Horace Hardy Lester Reactor) was constructed on site, for material research programs, and operated there until 1970.
In 1968 the Army ceased operations at the arsenal; were sold to the Watertown Redevelopment Authority, while the remaining were converted to the United States Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center (AMMRC), renamed the United States Army Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) in 1985. In 1995 all Army activity ceased and the remainder of the site was converted to civilian use.
The Armory site was formerly included on US EPA's
National Priorities List
The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...
of highly contaminated sites, more widely known as
Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
. The site was removed from the NPL in 2006.
See also
*
List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
*
*
List of military installations in Massachusetts
This is a list of current and former military installations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Current military installations in Massachusetts Joint facilities
;Bases
* Joint Base Cape Cod (state designation, not federally recognized)
References
Bibliography
* Aitken, Hugh G. J. (1985; first published 1960), Scientific Management in Action: Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal, 1908–1915, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, US. . . ''First published in 1960 by Harvard University Press. Republished in 1985 by Princeton University Press, with a new foreword by
Merritt Roe Smith
Merritt Roe Smith (1940) is an American historian. He is the Leverett and William Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Life
Smith graduated from Georgetown University, and Pennsylvania State U ...
.''
* Earls, Alan R., 2007 Watertown Arsenal, (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, United States ().
* ()
*
External links
Official Website of the former Watertown Arsenal Commander's Quarters*
Historic American Engineering Record
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
documentation, filed under Watertown, Middlesex County, MA:
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{{Authority control
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Watertown, Massachusetts
Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
Massachusetts in the American Civil War
United States Army arsenals during World War II
Superfund sites in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
1816 establishments in Massachusetts
Installations of the U.S. Army in Massachusetts
Closed installations of the United States Army