U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co.

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The privately held United States Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company Inc., (USFA) based in Hartford, Connecticut, was established "Under the Blue Dome" at the site of the original Colt Armory built in 1855. Founded by Douglas F. Donnelly, of Los Angeles, California. U.S. Fire Arms (USFA) began operations at the historic Colt Armory in 1993. Manufacturers of historic "John Wayne"-style revolvers and guns of the Wild West Frontier of the 1870s.

U. S. Fire Arms, (USFA) is the largest gun company in Hartford Conn. The noted Winchester Repeating Arms company being located just south in New Haven, Conn. USFA is the newest company of its kind in the modern CNC machine world of gun makers.

The Colt Company had sold the original plant in 1947 to a limited partnership which struggled to maintain the site that covered six city blocks in Hartford's South End.

In 1994 Colt's abandoned their space at the old plant, however, USFA continued to produce arms there becoming the last gun maker in Hartford since Sam Colt founded his armory in 1855. Many famous names have either shared the factory and Hartford environs (Hiram Maxim Machine Guns, John Browning (automatic pistols, BAR Rifle) Christian or C. Sharps Long range rifles)

The company purchased a new site in late 2001 (a 4 acre campus estimated at over 40 million in todays dollars) to expand operations in Hartford and from 1993 maintained both the Historic Armory and New facility for the production of Lightning Magazine Rifles, New Model 1910 Automatics and of course the Legendary Single Action Army revolvers.

The Historic Colt Armory was sold to investors represented by B. F. Goodrich in 1997 and was divested in about 2001 to Homes for America, Robert & Rebecca McFarlane.

The Last Revolvers made "Under the Blue Dome " by U. S. Fire Arms in 2003 were a series of special runs of the Single Action Army Model, Mixed finishes including Old Armory Color Case and Dome Blue, 7 1/2 inch, 5 1/2 & 4 3/4 barrels, chambered in .45 Colt bearing special serial numbers and several different grips styles. The first in the series remains in the Company's Archive today.