The U.S. Repeating Arms Company (USRAC) was an American manufacturer of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s. It was established in April 1857 and operated as an independent company until 1989, when it went bankrupt and was taken over by Fabrique Nationale Herstal. The company traced its origins to the

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...

, which was famous for making

Winchester rifle Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. Th ...

History

In 1866, Oliver Winchester reorganized the New Haven Arms Company and changed its name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. In 1931, the

Western Cartridge Company The Western Cartridge Company was an American manufacturer of small arms and ammunition formerly based in East Alton, Illinois. Founded in 1898, it was the forerunner of the Olin Corporation, formed in 1944, of which Western was absorbed into. ...

(forerunner of the

Olin Corporation Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Acciden ...

) purchased Winchester Repeating Arms and subsequently merged with it to form the Winchester-Western Company. In 1981, the U.S. Repeating Arms Company was established by Winchester employees to purchase the rights to manufacture Winchester-branded

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s and

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, under

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

from Olin. Production of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

and cartridge components under the Winchester Ammunition Inc. name were retained by Olin and not licensed to USRAC. In 1989, after the

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

of USRAC, it was taken over by Fabrique Nationale Herstal (FN), a Belgium-based international group producing firearms. In early 2006, it was announced that the factory in New Haven would close. Production of several Winchester rifles would cease worldwide, while some models would be continued at factories outside the United States. This later changed, as according to the FN website, Winchester-branded guns are still being produced by FN in both the U.S. and Belgium.

Factory in Newhallville

Industrial activity in

Newhallville Newhallville is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, named for industrialist George Newhall. As delineated on city planning maps, Newhallville is bordered on the north by the town of Hamden, on the east by Winchester Avenue, o ...

was reduced drastically after 1965 when Winchester, at that time the largest employer in New Haven, decided to move its main production line to East Alton, Illinois. After a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

s' strike in the late 1970s, the factory was sold to U.S. Repeating Arms.Associated Press
'Gun that Won the West' becoming just part of history
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', January 18, 2006 The neighborhood's long history of arms production finally ended completely in 2006, when the U.S. Repeating Arms factory closed, laying off 186 workers.Out With A Bang: The Loss of the Classic Winchester Is Loaded With Symbolism
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', January 21, 2006

References

External links

Winchesterguns.com website
(Winchester firearms made by Herstal Group subsidiaries)
Winchester.com website
(Winchester ammunition made by the

) {{Herstal Group Defunct firearms manufacturers of the United States Privately held companies based in Connecticut Olin Corporation

History

Factory in Newhallville

See also

References

External links