This Shouldn't Happen - Destruction of a Seth Thomas Tower Clock

In February 2018, Northside-Blodgett School, in Corning, New York was demolished.  In doing so, the clock tower went with it, along with the clock components, bell, and 3 of the 4 dials on the building.  Efforts were made to purchase and remove the Seth Thomas Clock and the 34" McShane bell before the building was demolished, but the demolition company had no interest in allowing the salvage of the clock.  A wonderful tower clock was destroyed along with the bell.  Tragic and sad.  This shouldn't happen in this day in age.

It can't be stressed enough how important it is to save these pieces of history.  This is why Cabarrus Time Savers was formed.  We want to prevent this from happening in our own community.  So if you live in a community with history you care about, get involved and help protect it.  We can't saver every building throughout history, but there are artifacts worth saving and preserving that are part of our heritage.

Thank you to Peter Nunes, of NAWCC, for making this public among other enthusiasts.

Residents of Historic Concord - Thank You!

Last week we received our first donation towards the restoration of our Historic Couthouse clock.  The Residents of Historic Concord (http://residentsofhistoricconcord.org/)  donated $10,000 in support of this project.  This will officially kick off our efforts and get the ball rolling.

Thank you to everyone at Residents of Historic Concord and everyone  in the community standing behind this restoration effort.  It is greatly appreciated!

From left to right, Sharon Kiser (CTS), Lois Marlow (CTS), Scott Schmeiser (CTS), Alex Porter (CTS/RHC), Amber Yuill (RHC), Patrick Dempsey (RHC)

The Restoration Plan - A.S. Hotchkiss #12A

The day is quickly approaching for the restoration to begin on the1876 A.S. Hotchkiss #12A tower clock, located in the historic Cabarrus County Courthouse.  The process is extremely involved for this rare clock and will take 2 to 3 years to complete.   The process is being broken into a several phases in order to better organize the work and help with funding.  The phases are as follows:

Phase 1 

The clock movement and dials will be removed from the courthouse clock tower in several pieces.  Every component will be tagged, bagged, photographed and documented for restoration purposes.  Dials will be removed and the hands and motion works will be disassembled.  All components will be taken off site for restoration.  Included in these components will be various parts and assemblies related to striking the bell.

Hands and motion works that drive the hands will be restored by Phil Wright, of the Tower Clock Company in South Charleston, Ohio.  Phil Wright will also be constructing new faces and numerals for the dials that will accurately represent dials available from the Seth Thomas company, the parent company of the clock, during the time the clock was installed.  Phil Wright and Cabarrus Time Savers will also be working together to recreate a Seth Thomas style weight drive system during this phase.

During this phase, Cabarrus County, in parallel, will also make necessary improvements and restorations to the building and clock tower so that the installation will last and be protected for years to come.

* Estimated Cost $26,000

Motion works on back side of dial.

Clock in its current state

Seth Thomas style weight drive system shown mounted under a different model of clock.  We will use only the weight drive portion and it will sit below the floor of the clock and above the bell.

The 994 pound bell in it's current state

Intended style of face and numerals that will be built for this clock tower.  This will better represent the original installation and will be back-lit so it can be seen at night.

Phase 2  

Clock restoration will begin.  Every component of the 1876 Seth Thomas-Hotchkiss #12A will be cleaned, examined for damage, missing pieces will be identified and re-created, every component will be reverse engineered and constructed in CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, refinished, and reassembled for testing.  It is intended that every detail will be restored to the best of our abilities, including original paint details and finishes to the clock's wheels/gears and bell striking components.  Cabarrus Time Savers will work closely with the Tower Clock Company to reproduce the missing parts.

The bell will also undergo attention during this phase.  Restoration to components and inspecting the bell for problems and checking function.

During this phase, a bell silencing device will also be designed and constructed.  It is to appear as original as possible to the installation, but will be actuated with modern electronics so that the bell can be muted during theater productions and at night.

* Phase 2 costs will be calculated after inspection of clock components and will be based on materials needed and estimated costs of missing part replacements.  Estimated cost range of $10,000 to $30,000.

This equally rare 1874 A.S. Hotchkiss/Seth Thomas #6A will be used for reference during the restoration process. It is completely original and is being made available by the Tower Clock Company

Phase 3

This phase will be for final testing/running, display of the restored clock in the museum and then ultimately re-installed into the clock tower for final commissioning.  The clock will undergo a testing period for setup, general time keeping and to make sure everything operates as intended in its home, at the top of the tower.

* Estimated costs - $5,000

NOTE:  All cost estimates and restoration times are based on component repairs, inspection time, lead time on recreation of new parts, and full documentation of the clock and the restoration process.  Estimated times and costs are also compared to similar restoration projects and calculated lead times for machine work and the foundry casting process.  Additional considerations to be considered while working in conjunction with the Courthouse repairs and their timeline.