Colt's Manufacturing history

As the Mexican War progressed in the 1840’s, demand for Colt’s revolver grew.

Sales remained slow for several years, and Patent Arms Manufacturing Company was out of business by 1842.

When United States Dragoon forces and Texas Rangers began battling Indians in Texas in 1845, the Colt company was given its second chance at success.

Colt made another attempt at revolver production in 1846 and submitted a prototype to the US government.

1847: Colt ships his new revolver, the "Walker," to the United States Ordnance Dept.

He organized a large display of his firearms at the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park, London and ingratiated himself by presenting cased engraved Colt revolvers to such appropriate officials as Britain's Master General of the Ordnance.

See in particular: George Alvord from London, 1852-54, relating to the Colt Factory in London.

Colt opened his London plant on the River Thames at Pimlico and began production on January 1, 1853.

In 1854 the British Admiralty ordered 4,000 Navy Model Colt revolvers.

In 1855 the British Army placed an order for 5,000 of these revolvers for army issue.

Map of Lands and Improvements Upon the South Meadows Belonging to Colonel Samuel Colt, June 4, 1856.

In 1860 it produced a new revolver model for the United States Army.

Nevertheless, the war made a huge fortune for the company, allowing Sam Colt to become America's first manufacturing tycoon, though he did not live to see the end of the war; he died of rheumatic fever on January 10, 1862.

1864: Fire destroys much of the complex, which is rebuilt.

On September 1, 1865, Root died, leaving the company in the hands of Samuel Colt's brother-in-law, Richard Jarvis.

In his memoir on Colt, written in 1866, Henry Barnard reported, “before the rebellion broke out, Col.

In 1867 the company began manufacturing the famous hand-cranked Gatling machine gun.

In 1868 Rollin White requested an extension to his patent, but the request was rejected.

The first metallic cartridge breech-loading weapons sold by Colt's were those Deringers, in 1870, that were formerly conceived by the National Arms Company, but Colt's also started developing its own rear-loading guns and cartridges.

The Colt single action Army Model, a six-shot .45 caliber revolver, was first produced in 1873.

G.M. Hopkins, Philadelphia, 1880. [CSL call number HistRef Map Case 912.7462 H25h]. Advertisement of Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Mfg.

Under a contract with the United States Army, Colt Arms built the Model 1895 ten-barrel variant of the Gatling Gun, capable of firing 800–900 .30 Army rounds per minute, and used with great effect at the Battle of San Juan Hill.

1901: The company is sold to a group of investors.

In caliber .45 Colt, the New Service was accepted by the United States Military as the Model 1909 .45 revolver.

After restructuring, a reinvigorated Colt introduced several new versions of its 1911 pistols, including stainless-steel competition and target models.

The last model to be in production, the third Colt Deringer, was not dropped until 1912.

Co.: Geer’s Hartford Directory, Including West Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut…..September, 1921.

The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression resulted in a slowing down of production for Colt.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1935 [CSL call number TS 535 .C6 R6].

Album 3 contains 24 views of the 1938 flood at the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company and vicinity.

New York: W. Morrow & Co., 1940 [CSL call number Museum TS 535 .H3].

The 1941 unionization of Colt's employees had dramatically increased the company payroll.

1942: The company's work force grows to 15,000 employees in three factories to keep up with demand during World War II.

New York: W. Morrow & Co., 1950 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .P3].

Harriman, TN: Pioneer Press, 1952 [CSL call number TS 535 .C6 R9 1952].

Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Co., [1953] [CSL call number TS 535 .E3 1953].

In September 1955 the board of directors voted to merge Colt with an upstart conglomerate called Penn-Texas, which had acquired Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool the same year.

Beverly Hills, CA: FADCO Publishing Co., 1956 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .B3].

1957: Colt company donates a cache of antique items to the Museum of Connecticut History.

Silberstein lost control of Penn-Texas in 1958, and a year later Penn-Texas changed its name to Fairbanks Whitney, following its acquisitions of two larger companies, Pratt & Whitney, a Connecticut manufacturer; and Fairbanks Morse Company, a diesel engine firm based in Chicago.

Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Co., 1959 [CSL call number TS 535 .C6 M5 1959].

Santa Ana, CA: Serven Books, 1960 [CSL call number TS 535.

Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1961 [CSL call number NK 6912 .W3 1961].

The first big government order for M-16s came in 1963, when the Air Force agreed to purchase 25,000 of the rifles.

Bullville, New York: H. Glass, 1964 [CSL call number Museum NK 6902 .H3 W3].

Albuquerque, NM: n.p., 1965 [CSL call number Museum TS537 .B78].

The May 1967 "Colt's Ink" newsletter announced that he had won a national competition for his selection and treatment of materials in the design.

Wichita, KA: C. Kidwell, 1969 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .W52 1969].

The company began to focus more attention on sporting guns, and in 1970, rifles and revolvers for sport generated $17 million in revenue.

Kansas City, MO: n.p., [1971] [CSL call number Museum TS 534.5 .S92 1971].

Los Angeles, CA: W. Beinfeld Publications, 1974 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .W518].

Dallas, TX: Jackson Arms, 1976 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .W523 1976].

For 1977, Colt's Firearms Division recorded $11 million in profit on sales of $77 million, trailing only Winchester, Remington, and Smith & Wesson in volume.

Dallas, TX: Jackson Arms, 1979 [CSL call number TS537 .P48].

Providence, RI: Mowbray Publishers, 1982 [CSL call number TS 534.5 .C6 G73 1982].

Hooks, TX: Brownlee Books, 1984 [CSL call number Museum TS 537 .W42 1984].

In 1985, Colt's workers, members of the United Auto Workers went on strike for higher wages.

In 1986 workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) began a strike that eventually became the longest in Connecticut history.

Dissatisfied with Colt's production, in 1988 the United States military awarded the contract for future M16 production to Fabrique Nationale.

CF Holding Corporation, a group of private investors led by Shared Technologies Inc. chairman Anthony Autorino, purchased the Firearms Division in 1989 for about $100 million.

The company manufactured 145,000 guns in 1990, making it the seventh largest gun producer in the United States.

Under the burden of a growing debt load, Colt's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1992.

Colt's suffered a setback in 1993 when the semi-automatic, military-styled Sporter--the company's best selling rifle--was banned in Connecticut, its home state.

In 1994, the assets of Colt were purchased by Zilkha & Co, a financial group owned by Donald Zilkha.

Lincoln, RI: Mowbray Publishers, 1995 [CSL call number TS 534.5 .C6 .G72 1995].

Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996 [CSL call number Museum TS 535 .C6 H67 1996].

However, the United States military had been purchasing Colt carbines for the past 30 years (See Colt Commando). During a 1998 The Washington Post interview, CEO Ron Stewart stated that he would favor a federal permit system with training and testing for gun ownership.

Colt announced the termination of its production of double-action revolvers in October 1999.

Palo Alto, CA: Strutz-LeVett Publishing Co., 2001 [CSL call number Museum TS 533.3 .N5 W55 2001].

2002: Colt spins off its military and law enforcement rifle business to Colt Defense LLC, with Colt Manufacturing Co. serving the commercial firearms business.

Prepared by the History and Genealogy Unit, Connecticut State Library, 2005. © 2005

2006: Samuel Colt inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 2007 Colt won a contract to produce M4 carbines for the US military worth $71 million.

2008: Hartford's Coltsville Historic District is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Under their license agreement with Colt, the US military could not legally award second-source production contracts for the M4 until July 1, 2009.

2010: Gerald R. Dinkel replaces Keys as President and CEO of Colt Defense.

In 2013, Dennis R. Veilleux assumed the role of President & Chief Executive Officer for Colt Holding Co.

Parent company Colt Defense, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 15, 2015, citing both assets and debts in the $100 million to $500 million range.

In January 2016, Colt announced that the bankruptcy court had approved its restructuring plan.

In 2020, there were more boating accidents in Connecticut— 54 —but fewer deaths, three, according to the Coast Guard’s annual Recreational Boating Statistics report.The Courant

A deadly mix for Connecticut boaters: Distractions, alcohol and no life jacketIn 2021, the Coast Guard reported 43 boating accidents and seven deaths in Connecticut.