Which Colt Entity?
There are many Colt organizations in Hartford. It can be confusing, but each has distinct functions. Below are brief descriptions of each Colt entity.
Coltsville Heritage Partnership, Inc. (CHP): A non-profit organization established in 2016 by involved and interested volunteers. Our mission is to support the National Park Service in educating the public and creating crucial partnerships with civic, cultural, social, and educational institutions.
Coltsville National Historical Park: The park was authorized by the Federal government in November of 2014. Creating the Coltsville National Historical Park required years of work and many steps. The next step is to establish the park. The National Park Service, CT Congressional and Legislative leaders, Coltsville Heritage Partnership, the City of Hartford, and Colt Gateway are all working diligently to meet all requirements to get the park established and functional.
Colt Park Foundation: Colt Park Foundation is a non-profit organization formed to protect the park and its design as well as advocate for enhancements to the park. The Foundation is an important portion of the CHP Board representing a majority of the land within the Coltsville Historic District.
Colt's Manufacturing Company: Formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, established by Samuel Colt in 1855 for the manufacture of firearms.
Colt Gateway: The entity that owns all of the former Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company armory complex. It is a private entity owned primarily by Chevron TCI and co-ownership with Larry Dooley, Managing Partner. To establish the National Park, two buildings of the Colt Complex will be officially turned over to the National Park Service as visitor center, administrative offices, and exhibit space.
Colt Park: Colt Park is a city-owned park that connects the former Colt mansion (Armsmear) on Wethersfield Avenue to the Colt Armory complex. The grounds were laid out in the late 1850s by noted Boston landscape architects Robert Morris Copeland and Horace W. S. Cleveland. This 105-acre parcel initially was the front yard of Armsmear and had beautiful gardens, fields, ponds, statuary, and a deer paddock. In 1905, when Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt died, her will left this land to the City of Hartford as a park for all to enjoy.
Colt Industrial District: The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 8, 1976. The Colt Industrial District encompasses the Armory complex, Church of the Good Shepherd, and the Caldwell Colt Memorial Parish House; the worker housing along Huyshope and Van Block Avenues; Potsdam Village on Curcombe Street; all of Colt Park; Armsmear; the James Colt house, built for Sam’s brother, and homes built by Elizabeth Colt for managers of Colt, located on Wethersfield Avenue.
Colt Trust: The Colt Trust was set up upon the death of Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt in 1905, to administer usage and moneys used for the protection and development of Armsmear, the Church of the Good Shepherd and Caldwell Colt Memorial Parish House,