American Clock & Watch Museum

On the same day I visited the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, CT, I went across town to see the American Clock & Watch Museum. Bristol resident Miles Lewis constructed the building in 1801, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Bristol’s Federal Hill Historic District. The building sits in the Connecticut River Valley, once the center for clock manufacturing in the United States.

The museum explained the history of clockmaking in Connecticut. Local clockmaker Eli Terry, Sr. is credited with patenting improvements to clock mechanisms and creating interchangeable clock parts, which made mass production possible and later inspired the automobile industry. Throughout the 19th century, many nearby clockmakers copied the designs built by Terry and his family. The huge increase in the number of available clocks and the ease of building them drove down the price. Clocks went from being luxury items to affordable for middle class families. Other new innovations include making clock parts out of metal instead of wood and putting clocks on the user’s wrist instead of in a pocket. While Connecticut’s clockmaking dominance has subsided, its legacy remains, as the Terry’s rival Waterbury Clock Company lives on as Timex.

The clock museum was filled with clocks. So many clocks. I visited the museum with the anticipation of seeing many, many clocks and still could not comprehend how so many clocks could be on display and yet only be a portion of the massive clock collection. Clocks were divided by time period and type, representing early clocks, grandfather clocks, novelty clocks, and more. One special room was dedicated to the collection of Edward Ingraham, a lifelong member of the Bristol community who adored clocks and died while visiting the museum. Staff members at the front desk provided me with a map and an explanation on how to best see all of the clocks.

A dozen mid-19th century clocks with wooden cases displayed on shelves. So many clocks.
PHOTOGRAPH BY Abigail Epplett
An early 19th century Connecticut Valley clock with a black wooden case and gold plated face
PHOTOGRAPH BY Abigail Epplett
A clock shaped like a violin
PHOTOGRAPH BY Abigail Epplett
A clock shaped like a black cat with a wagging tail wearing a green bowtie
PHOTOGRAPH BY Abigail Epplett

After becoming weary of clocks, I took a break in the garden behind the museum, which featured many flowers and a large bell. According to signage inside the museum, the bell originally hung in a factory tower in Naugatuck, Connecticut. It rang ninety times every night at 9:00 p.m., signaling the curfew.

A large bell on a metal holder standing on a flagstone near a white, wooden building in a garden
PHOTOGRAPH BY Abigail Epplett

The American Clock & Watch Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Adult admission is $8.00. Seniors over 60 are $7.00. Children over 5 and Students with ID are $5.00. Children under 5, museum members, and museum affiliate members including New England Museum Association (NEMA) are free. The museum encourages potential visitors to call ahead for group rates.

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Abigail Epplett

Abigail Epplett leads a dual life as a freelance digital marketing consultant for small humanities-focused organizations and as a customer experience design creative specialist at lab equipment manufacturer Waters Corporation. She holds an MA in Museum Education from Tufts University, where she researched the history of New England from Plymouth to the Civil War. To learn more about her adventures with museums, visit her current blog at abbyeppletthistorian.blogspot.com.

Abigail is Historian-In-Residence at the National Museum of Mental Health Project: https://www.nmmhproject.org/