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By the aid of these machines...
Beneath your feet lie the foundations of the Smith and Forging Shop. The largest building in the armory, it reflected changing methods of manufacturing. In the armory's early days, gun making was slow and labor intensive. Armorers worked in small workshops handcrafting one gun at a time. Then in 1819, while working in Harpers Ferry, inventor John Hall developed machine-made weapons with interchangeable parts. He boasted that "one boy by the aid of these machines can perform more work than ten men." Hall's new machines began the industrial revolution and inspired countless innovations in machinery and industry. |