New Britain: Hardware City of the World
The New Britain Industrial Museum collects, preserves and exhibits items representing more than 200 years of New Britain innovation and invention.
From 19th century hooks & eyes to 21st century ERA Cobra Cars, the Museum and its collection serve as a bridge between New Britain’s past and present and provides inspiration for the future.
New Britain’s impact has been, and continues to be, felt far beyond its borders. Very few of the items we use or wear everyday could have been created without a machine, a part, or a concept that originated in New Britain. In fact, for most of the 20th century, every American came into contact with at least one New Britain product a day: it was either made here, had a part in it that was made here, or was made on a New Britain machine.
Explore our website and our Facebook page to learn about the history of the Hardware City of the World, who we are, and what we do.
“Industry Fills the Hive and Enjoys the Honey”
- Elihu Burritt, New Britain City Motto, 1871
Collection
Out of the blacksmith forges populating 18th century New Britain grew 5 major industries that fueled daily life in America for most of the 20th century. From the lock on your front door and the key in your pocket to the appliances in your kitchen and the parts in your car, all of those things and more might be made in New Britain, contain New Britain parts, or have been made on a New Britain machine.
Mission
The mission of the New Britain Industrial Museum is to collect, preserve and exhibit to the general public examples of industrial artifacts representative of the ingenuity and creativeness of generations of Hardware City people in a continuing effort both to cultivate awareness of their past productivity and to inspire future industrial accomplishment.