Watervliet Arsenal The Watervliet Arsenal is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet , New York , on the west bank of the Hudson River . It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States , and today produces much of the artillery for the army , as well as gun tubes for cannon s , mortar s , and tank s . It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966 . The arsenal was founded in 1813 to support the War of 1812 , and was designated as the Watervliet Arsenal in 1817 . It occupies 142 acres ( 57 ha ) of land , approximately 8 miles ( 13 km ) north of Albany , New York . The location is adjacent to the Hudson River . The site contains manufacturing , administrative offices , storage areas , and a museum tracing weapon ry from the 17th century through modern times . It also contains the Army ' s Benet Laboratories , which does product development , improvement , research , and testing . Tenant activities . The Arsenal has the historic Iron Building , which currently serves as the Watervliet Arsenal Museum . The museum closed on Oct . 1 , 2013 in order to go through a two - year remodeling effort . The Arsenal also contains Recruiting Station Albany , the headquarters of a United States Marine Corps recruiting station . On 17 February 2009 , the headquarters of the United States Army Albany Recruiting Battalion relocated to Watervliet Arsenal from its old location on Wolf Road . In addition , the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership serves as a site manager on behalf of the Army that manages all private sector tenant activity . There are currently 16 private sector tenants on the site . 1813 – 1823 . The arsenal was chosen to be built at the edge of the village of Gibonsville , directly opposite Troy , New York . It was chosen to be built there due to its key location on the Hudson River , only from Lake Champlain , from New York City , and a short distance via the Mohawk River to Lake Ontario . During the early stages of the War of 1812 , attacks could be expected from many key ports and other locations . At the time , the Colonel of Ordnance was Decius Wadsworth ; he originally designated the arsenal to produce fixed ammunition and small articles of equipment including gun carriages , drag ropes , ladles , wormers , sponges , and shot . The original plot of land acquired by the Department of Ordnance was . Construction began in the summer of 1813 on fourteen buildings : south and north gun houses , a brick arsenal , two stables , a guard house , commanding officer ' s quarters , a woodshed , two enlisted men ' s quarters , a hospital and one office . The cost for the land was 2 , 585 . 1880s . Nearly 70 years after the arsenal produced its first products it was finally thrust into national prominence when in the late 1880s the arsenal became the Army ’ s first large caliber cannon manufacturer . During this period , production moved from the manufacturing of saddles and gun carriages to cannons . Remnants of this period are still in operation today as evidenced by the continued use of historic Building 110 , “ The Big Gun Shop , ” for manufacturing missions . This gun shop once produced the 16 - inch guns for the U . S . Navy ’ s battleships . Today . Today ' s arsenal is relied upon by U . S . and foreign militaries to produce the most advanced , high tech , high powered weaponry for tank , howitzer , and mortar systems . It is also the only domestic manufacturer for U . S . Army large - caliber breeches and gun tubes . This National Historic Registered Landmark has an annual economic benefit to the local community in excess of $ 100 million .