Factory, worker housing and owner residences, all tied to Samuel Colt, born 1814 and died 1862, make up the Coltsville Historic District, the 260-acre area south of downtown Hartford that you are now entering. Here one of the nation's early innovators in precision manufacturing and the production of firearms built an industrial enterprise that made important contributions to manufacturing technology. Parts of this district were originally listed as the Colt Industrial District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and the area was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008.
After a two decade-long campaign to recognize its national significance, President Barack Obama signed a bill authorizing the Coltsville National Historic Park, an initiative envisioned as a new type of National Park — characterized by a small staff, modest property ownership by the National Park Service, and dependence on community partnerships. Stand with me and imagine the rhythms of precision work that once echoed across these blocks, the homes clustered for workers, the owner's residences nearby. Notice the buildings and streets south of downtown Hartford, bounded to the north by Wyllys and Charter Oak Avenues.