Eli Whitney Museum

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The Eli Whitney Museum is a building erected as a musket factory by Eli Whitney on a site he purchased on September 17, 1798. It is now a museum, located at 915 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, Connecticut, and open to the public most afternoons.

The museum is located on the site of the Eli Whitney Armory, a factory powered by water from the Mill River where Whitney produced muskets for the United States government. On June 14, 1798, he had contracted to produce 10,000 muskets to be delivered within 28 months at the cost of $134,000.00; in fact, it took ten years. When he signed the contract, Whitney had no factory, no workers and no experience in gun manufacturing. However, in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott, a fellow Yale University graduate and friend, Whitney had written:

I am persuaded that Machinery moved by water adapted to this Business would greatly diminish the labor and facilitate the manufacture of this Article. Machines for forging, rolling, floating, boring, grinding, polishing, etc. may all be made use of to advantage.... (May 13, 1798)

Whitney's factory was at the very forefront of the American Industrial Revolution, as its muskets were produced by water-powered machinery, and among the first to have standardized, interchangeable parts (for some but not all of its parts).

Although it does have exhibits regarding the inventor, the museum is mostly dedicated to having children build projects. The museum is run by William Brown and Sally Hill, with staff consisting primarily of paid interns who help to design projects and help children build projects.

The site is located near a water reservation center as well as a hiking trail. The museum hosts summer camps and birthday parties.