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Title:	SHOTGUN -  SHATTUCK SHOTGUN "AMERICAN" 8 GAUGE
Maker/Manufacturer:	SHATTUCK, CHARLES S.
Date of Manufacture:	1890-1920
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 8166
Measurements:	OL: 81.2CM 32 2/3" BL: 43.4CM 17 1/8"

Object Description:

SHATTUCK SHOTGUN "AMERICAN" 8 GAUGE
Made by Charles S. Shattuck, Hatfield, Ma. - Extremely short, heavy, large bore breechloading "shotgun" with double trigger mechanism; the front one unlatching the tip down barrel and the rear one for firing. Hard rubber buttplate embossed with deer heard. Front sight appears to be a threaded bolt screwed in and cut off. It is believed that this weapon was at one time a longer "punt gun" or market gun that for some reason has been shortened and a new sight added. It is known that Shattuck marketed a line of shotguns under the trade name of American, and the deer head buttplate would suggest a "sporting" use. However, there is also a slight possibility that this arm is (or has been made into) a line-throwing device. There is also a possibility it may be a harpoon gun.

Markings:
Frame: C.S. SHATTUCK HATFIELD MASS.
Barrel: AMERICAN.
Buttplate: Head of deer.

Weapon donated to the Springfield Armory NHS by Tufts University (Victor A. Friend Collection) on 3 August 1979.

Friend's #16-8 - "Poachers and Market Hunters Shot Gun. This short barreled, eight guage gun used by game poachers and so-called 'market hunters' in the 1890s and early 1900's for killing great quantities of waterfowl for sale to markets. Federal laws were finally passed prohibiting the use of such guns and limiting the number of fowl to be taken.
The front trigger operates the latch to allow the barrel to tip up for loading. Marked 'American' on barrel and 'C.S. Shattuck, Hatfield, Mass.' on side of frame."

Springfield Republican, December 11, 2005 - "OLD MILL DREAM. ANOTHER LIFE FOR THE OLD MILL. The new bed and breakfast will feature a 60-seat banquet hall. HATFIELD - It's been a grist mill, a gun and spark plug factory, an antique shop and a newspaper office. Then Ted Jarrett took one look at the Old Mill on School Street and saw what it really is: a bed and breakfast.
Jarrett and his partner, Antonio Martino are spending most of their days now painting and hammering to the sound of the adjacent waterfall on the Mill River.
By March they hope to be welcoming guests to nine well-appointed rooms, one of which will be handicapped-accessible. The Old Mill on the Falls Bed and Breakfast will be the latest in a long line of ventures at a site that dates back to the settlement of the town.
Jarrett and Martino have been in the hospitality business for eight years, running the Maple Heights Bed and Breakfast in Springfield. Jarrett, who also owns a bed and breakfast reservation service, said he had been looking for a new location for some time.
'I stumbled on the mill and fell in love with it,' he said.
Situated next to a waterfall, the building had played an important rile in Hatfield's commerce for nearly four centuries. According to the history of the site provided by real estate agent Patricia Patenaude of Jones Town and Country Realty Services, Thomas Meekins, one of the first pioneers to arri ve in the area, was voted the rights to the waterfall and surrounding swampland by his fellow settlers in exchange for his services as a miller.
In 1661, Meekins built a grist-mill next to the waterfall, adding a sawmill on the other side of the river eight years later. One of the few mills in the area to survive a series of Indian attacks, the operation became a key to agricultural development in the valley.
Harvey Moore bought the site in the mid-1800s and built two new mills to replace the original ones. After the Civil War, a new owner was established the Crescent Pistol Co. in one of the buildings. It became the Shattuck Gun Shop after Major Charles Shattuck, a Gettysburg veteran, purchased the site. At its peak the shop turned out 15,000 guns.
In 1881, the building was destroyed by fire and Shattuck built the existing three-story structure. He rented out one floor to lathe manufacturer Jonathan Porter, who in turn built the existing shop on the south side of the river. Water turbines were installed in both buildings in the 20th century.
In 1932, Shattuck's building was sold for use, once agaThe inn will include a 60-person banquet hall. Martino, a chef who owns Fantstico's, a Springfield restaurant, will oversee that operation. Two suites complete with Jacuzzis will overlook the falls, Jarrett said.
'It's geared for romantic get-aways,' he said.
Although it's in a secluded part of town, Jarrett noted that the bed and breakfast is only short jaunt from Northampton.
'We get a lot of calls for this particular area,' he said. 'With the waterfall, it will be great for weddings." - Fred Contrada

Notes: "Shattuck, C.S., Arms Co. - Hatfield, Mass., 1880-1908. Makers of Shattuck revolvers, patent of November 4, 1879 (#10,677). The cylinder swings to the right horizontally, to load and eject. Ejection is accomplished by sliding the cylinder forward on the shaft on which it swings. Produced the 'Unique' four-barrel pistol, to be carried in the palm, the four barrels firing simultaneously by upward pressure upon a slide. Also made single shotguns with an extra to break." - Robert E. Gardner

"SHATTUCK, CHARLES S., (1840-1919), Springfield, Massachusetts, 1876d - 1877, Hatfield, Massachusetts, 1877d-1915d. As Hyde & Shattuck, 1876-1880 and Shattuck Arms Co. thereafter. Made 'Queen' derringers, 'American' shotguns, 'Unique' revolvers under Andrew Hyde's patent, and 'Unique,' four barrel pistols under O.F. Mossberg's patent." - Sellers

"SHATTUCK & CO., C.S.: The company was founded by Andrew Hyde & Charles S. Shattuck in 1875 in Hatfield, Massachusetts. In 1880 Mr. Shattuck took control and reorganzied the company under his name. Shattuck was best known for inexpensive handguns and single barrel shotguns. They went out of business in 1908." - Carder

References:
Carder, Charles E. SIDE BY SIDES OF THE WORLD. Avil Onze Publishing. Delphos, Ohio. 1997.
Gardner, Colonel Robert E. SMALL ARMS MAKERS. Crown Publishers, Inc. N.Y., N.Y. 1963.
Sellers, Frank M. AMERICAN GUNSMITHS. The Gun Room Press. Highland, N.J. 1983.