Statement of Congressman Larson before Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks
STATEMENTOF CONGRESSMAN JOHN B. LARSON BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEEON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURALRESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 2519, TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIORTO CONDUCT A STUDY OF COLTSVILLE IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT FORPOTENTIAL INCLUSION IN THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.
June20, 2002
As the sponsor of the House version ofthe Coltsville Study Act, I thank the Committee for allowing me to speakthis afternoon on an issue of importance to my constituents and to thehistoric preservation of an important American landmark of achievement.I would also like to commend my two delegation colleagues, Senator Doddand Senator Lieberman, for their leadership on this issue.
The history of Coltsville is a historyof industry in central Connecticut, beginning with Samuel and ElizabethColt, then Pope manufacturing's production of bicycles and automobiles,and finally blooming into what we now know as Pratt and Whitney in EastHartford. It is a unique regional and international landmark.
Hartford, Connecticut, the home to Coltmanufacturing, played a major role in the Industrial Revolution, andwhen you look deeper at the area one begins to see the unique andholistic community that developed in the area and brought other earlyindustrial leaders like Henry Ford to Coltsville to learn the innovativemanufacturing techniques and equipment being invented and developed inthe area.
In fact, Samuel Colt, founder of Coltmanufacturing, and his wife, Elizabeth Colt, inspired Coltsville, awhole community that inspired and flourished during the IndustrialRevolution and included Victorian mansions, an open green area,botanical gardens, and even a deer park.
The actual residence of Samuel andElizabeth Colt in Hartford, Connecticut, known as "Armsmear,"is a national historic landmark, and the distinctive Colt factory's bluedome is a prominent feature of the Hartford, Connecticut, skyline.
It is important to emphasize here thatthe Colt legacy is not just about firearms, but also about industrialinnovation and the development of technology that would change the wayof life in the United States. Mr. Colt worked with Samuel Morse in thedevelopment of the telegraph, and Colt manufacturing contributed to thedevelopment of technology in many ways, inspiring the jet enginepioneers Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney, who served as apprentices atColt manufacturing. The influence of the community was extended overseaswhen Samuel Colt became the first individual in the United States toopen a manufacturing plant overseas.
Coltsville set the standard forexcellence during the Industrial Revolution and continues to provesignificant as a place in which people of the United States can learnabout that important period in history and its association with the MarkTwain House, Trinity College, Old North Cemetery, and many historichomesteads and architecturally renowned buildings.
This legislation and its overwhelminglocal support and excitement signifies that we are starting on the roadto developing and cultivating Coltsville's history and its importance toHartford and the State of Connecticut. Along with other members of thedelegation and the community, I am committed to preserving the area'simmeasurable historical value, and appreciate the Committee'sconsideration of this proposal.