Historic Winchester Plant Closes Doors After 140 years on Winchester Avenue, U.S. Repeating Arms Co. officially closed the doors to its New Haven, Conn., factory Wednesday. With the plant's closure, production of the iconic Winchester Model 94 and Model 70 rifles and the Model 1300 shotgun will cease. City and state officials have been meeting with potential buyers of the plant, but, so far, no one has expressed an interest. There were reports that Smith & Wesson and Savage Arms toured the plant, but both companies said a purchase is not likely, the New Haven Register reports. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell vows to continue to fight for jobs at the plant. USRAC parent company Herstal Group of Belgium said in January it would close the factory to concentrate on growing its current line of other Winchester shotguns and rifles. Winchester guns had been manufactured in New Haven since 1866. During World War II, more than 19,000 people worked at the New Haven factory. Connecticut's News Channel 8 last week featured a look back at the history of the plant and the guns it produced.