American clock

Last updated
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds in its collections a tall-case striking clock that Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., constructed in Boston before 1740 and that Elisha Williams probably acquired between 1725 and 1739 while he was rector of Yale College. Tall case clock, Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., Boston, Massachusetts, 1730-1745, walnut, maple, beech, cedar, brass, glass, paint - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC04743.jpg
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds in its collections a tall-case striking clock that Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., constructed in Boston before 1740 and that Elisha Williams probably acquired between 1725 and 1739 while he was rector of Yale College.

The term American clock refers to a style of clock design. During the 1600s, when metal was harder to come by in the colonies than wood, works for many American clocks were made of wood, including the gears, which were whittled and fashioned by hand, as were all other parts. [2] There is some evidence that wooden clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven. [3] Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford, Connecticut, was producing wooden striking clocks by 1745. [3]

Contents

In the 19th century, many clocks and watches were produced in the United States, especially in Connecticut, where many companies were formed to mass-produce quality timepieces. [4] Makers of American clocks included:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winsted, Connecticut</span> CDP in Connecticut, United States

Winsted is a census-designated place and an incorporated city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the town of Winchester. The population of Winsted was 7,712 at the 2010 census, out of 11,242 in the entire town of Winchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterbury, Connecticut</span> City in Connecticut, United States

Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Hartford and 77 miles (124 km) northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 2020 Waterbury had a population of 114,403. As of the 2010 census, Waterbury had a population of 110,366, making it the 10th largest city in the New York Metropolitan Area, 9th largest city in New England and the 5th largest city in Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad</span> Railroad in the United States from 1872 to 1968

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of the New York and New Haven and Hartford and New Haven railroads, the company had near-total dominance of railroad traffic in Southern New England for the first half of the 20th century.

Timex Group USA, Inc. is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into Timex Corporation. In 2008, the company was acquired by Timex Group B.V. and was renamed Timex Group USA.

A grandfather clock is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8–2.4 metres (6–8 feet) tall with an enclosed pendulum and weights suspended by either cables or chains which have to be calibrated occasionally to keep the proper time. The case often features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood, which surrounds and frames the dial, or clock face. The English clockmaker William Clement is credited with the development of this form in 1670. Until the early 20th century, pendulum clocks were the world's most accurate timekeeping technology, and longcase clocks, due to their superior accuracy, served as time standards for households and businesses. Today they are kept mainly for their decorative and antique value, having been widely replaced by both analog and digital timekeeping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chauncey Jerome</span>

Chauncey Jerome (1793–1868) was an American clockmaker in the early 19th century. He made a fortune selling his clocks, and his business grew quickly. However, his company failed in 1856, and he died in poverty.

The New Haven Register is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The Register was established about 1812 and is one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the U.S. In the early 20th century it was bought by John Day Jackson. The Jackson family owned the Register, published weekday evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings, and The Journal-Courier, a morning weekday paper, until they were combined in 1987 into a seven-day morning Register.

The Republican-American is a conservative-leaning, family-owned newspaper based in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is the result of the combination of two separate newspapers – the Waterbury American and the Waterbury Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck Railroad</span>

Founded in 1996, the Naugatuck Railroad is a common carrier railroad owned by the Railroad Museum of New England and operated by Naugatuck Railroad on tracks leased by Naugatuck Railroad from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The original Naugatuck Railroad was a railroad chartered to operate through south central Connecticut in 1845, with the first section opening for service in 1849. In 1887 the line was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and became wholly owned by 1906. At its greatest extent the Naugatuck ran from Bridgeport north to Winsted. Today's Naugatuck Railroad runs from Waterbury to the end of track in Torrington, Connecticut. From Waterbury south to the New Haven Line, Metro-North Railroad operates commuter service on the Waterbury Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eli Terry</span>

Eli Terry Sr. was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks affordable for the average American citizen. Terry occupies an important place in the beginnings of the development of interchangeable parts manufacturing. Terry is considered the first person in American history to actually accomplish interchangeable parts with no government funding. Terry became one of the most accomplished mechanics in New England during the early part of the nineteenth century. The village of Terryville, Connecticut is named for his son, Eli Terry Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterbury Union Station</span> United States historic place

The Waterbury Union Station building is located on Meadow Street in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a brick building dating to the first decade of the 20th century. Its tall clock tower, built by the Seth Thomas Company, is the city's most prominent landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Company</span>

The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which also controlled most steam railroads in the state. After 1936, when one of its major leases was dissolved, it continued operating streetcars and, increasingly, buses in certain Connecticut cities until 1976, when its assets were purchased by the state government.

The history of Connecticut Industry is a major part of the history of Connecticut. Between the birth of the U.S. patent system in 1790 and 1930, Connecticut had more patents issued per capita than any other state; in the 19th century, when the U.S. as a whole was issued one patent per three thousand population, Connecticut inventors were issued one patent for every 700–1000 residents. Connecticut's first recorded invention was a lapidary machine, by Abel Buell of Killingworth, in 1765.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timexpo Museum</span> History museum, horology museum in Connecticut, United States

The Timexpo Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut was dedicated to the history of Timex Group and its predecessors, featuring exhibits dating to the founding of Waterbury Clock Company in 1854. The museum was located in the Brass Mill Commons shopping center with its location marked by a 40-foot (12 m) high replica of an Easter Island Moai statue which connected with the museum's archaeology exhibit. The museum covered 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) with 8,000 square feet (740 m2) dedicated to the two main exhibits: the company's history of timepieces and archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Naugatuck Valley</span> Place in Connecticut, United States

The Central Naugatuck Valley is a region of Connecticut in New Haven and Litchfield counties located approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of New York City and 110 miles (180 km) southwest of Boston, United States. The region comprises 13 towns: Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury.

The American Brass Company was an American brass manufacturing company based in Connecticut and active from 1893 to 1960. The company's predecessors were the Wolcottville Brass Company and the Ansonia Brass and Battery Company. It was the first large brass manufacturing firm in the United States, and for much of its existence was the largest brass manufacturer in the country. It was purchased by the Anaconda Copper Company in 1922, and merged into Anaconda's other brass manufacturing concerns in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter A. Rosazza</span>

Peter Anthony Rosazza is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford from 1978 to 2010.

The E. Ingraham Company was one of the premier American clock and watch manufacturers during the 19th and 20th centuries. Headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut, the firm was founded in 1831 by Elias Ingraham and controlled by members of the Ingraham family until 1956.

References

  1. Safford, Heckscher & Rogers 1985, pp. 290–291.
  2. Gottshall 1971, p. 101.
  3. 1 2 Uselding, Paul (2003). "Clock and Watch Industry". Dictionary of American History. The Gale Group Inc. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2017-05-31. The first clockmaker of record in America was Thomas Nash, an early settler of New Haven in 1638. Throughout the seventeenth century, eight-day striking clocks with brass movements, similar to those made in England, were produced by craft methods in several towns and villages in Connecticut. .... By 1745 Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford was producing wooden clocks, and there is some evidence that these clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven.
  4. Chauncey Jerome, Lockwood Barr (1860). History of the American clock business for the past sixty years: and life of Chauncey Jerome, written by himself. F. C. Dayton, jr., 1860. Retrieved 10 April 2010.

Sources