Underneath that blue dome lies the east armory of a factory once owned by a man who changed American history, the innovator of the revolver, Samuel Colt. Sprawling around the crumbling red brickwork of the old Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, once the largest private armory in the world, are the remnants of Coltsville, the utopian village he built for his workers.

A model of 19th century industrial paternalism, Coltsville included a church, a social hall for dances and lectures, workers’ housing, a giant landscaped park home to deer and peacocks, sculpted botanical gardens, and thousands of feet of greenhouses filled with tropical fruit and flowers. Samuel Colt felt such responsibility for the welfare of his workers outside the factory that he went so far as to build Potsdam Village, to replicate the feel of the German village from which he imported his skilled craftsmen to work in his willow ware factory.

The National Park Service began having on-site presence in 2015, with workshops and tours, including up into the Blue Onion Dome which affords magnificent views of downtown Hartford, the Connecticut River and Colt Park, formerly the back yard of Armsmear, Samuel & Elizabeth Colt’s mansion. By 2016, an NPS ranger had taken up residence in the South Armory and was giving walking tours of Coltsville.

The old South, East and North armories are under renovation and the two 1855 brownstone buildings, the oldest structures on site, will become the National Park Service Visitor Center. The armories themselves have been or are being renovated into apartments, offices and education facilities.

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Our top choices for Sheldon-Charter Oak ski hotels

Free buffet breakfast

Holiday Inn Express Southington by IHG

Southington

United States

Anthony

NT$2,798 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 3 - 2026/1/4

Holiday Inn Cheshire - Southington by IHG

Southington

United States

Veronica

NT$3,272 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 25 - Dec 26

Breakfast, lunch, dinner served; American cuisine

Inn at Middletown

Washington Street Historic District

United States

Katharine

NT$6,498 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 5 - 2026/1/6

Lobby

Days Inn by Wyndham Southington

Southington

United States

Lisa

NT$2,876 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 13 - Dec 14

Lobby sitting area

HYATT house Hartford North/Windsor

Windsor

United States

Amber

NT$4,242 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 23 - Dec 24

Exterior

Homewood Suites by Hilton Hartford-Farmington

Farmington

United States

Catherine

NT$3,912 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 4 - 2026/1/5

Staircase

The Farmington Inn & Suites

Farmington

United States

Nello

NT$4,099 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 28 - Dec 29

Interior

Avon Old Farms Hotel

Avon

United States

Alvero

NT$4,233 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 30 - Dec 31

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Top Sheldon-Charter Oak Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Express Southington by IHG

Holiday Inn Express Southington by IHG

10/10 Excellent

"Yes"

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