Richard Colton, historian at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, will lead a walking tour of the grounds of the Springfield Armory on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 10:30 a.m. until noon. The tour will begin and end at the Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle, 21 Edwards Street.
Colton will lead the group through the Byers Street gate on the corner of State Street onto the Armory grounds to see the site's most historic structures. He will describe what the area would have looked like in 1801, the date of the earliest detailed map of the site and the only known source for this information. The copy of that survey in the Armory's archives consisted of a photostat mounted on board. A modern scan of the survey, digitally "cleaned" of paper tears and stains, has revealed the form and location of the 18th century structures, many of which disappeared later in 1801 in a major fire. The tour is part of the Second Saturday Walking Tour series, co-sponsored by the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association and the Springfield Museums. Walking tour tickets are sold in the museum Welcome Center on Edwards Street on the day of the event. Tickets are free for members of the civic association or of the museums. Non-member tickets are $5 per person. All proceeds will go toward improvements to the neighborhood. The walking tour ticket also provides $2 off the price of an adult admission to the Springfield Museums on the day of the tour. This will be the final Second Saturday Walking Tour of the season. Tours will resume in April. For additional information, call the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association at 413-747-1830 or email aqca@kimballtowers.com.