Lighthouse Timepieces

© Elinor DeWire

Excerpted from Elinor DeWire's

Lighthouse Keeper's Scrapbook

(Sentinel Publications, 1994 - out of print)

(Photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

The Lighthouse Timepiece, a patented alarm clock first made in 1822 by Simon Willard of Roxbury, Massachusetts, resembled a lighthouse. It is thought that the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth, England was the inspiration for this unusual clock. The case was beautiful. A cylindrical or square wooden base, usually of mahogany or rosewood, housed the mechanism and was topped by a second cylindrical tier of wood. Onto this was fastened a hand-blown glass dome that covered the dial and movement. On the pinnacle of the dome was a gilded ball. Some models had feet, usually in the popular Empire forms of lion's paws or gilded balls. For a time, Simon Willard offered a special "Bridal Lighthouse Timepiece" with white enamel columns rising from its base. Most of the Lighthouse Timepieces had an alarm in the form of a bell, and they were 8-day clocks. Although a handsome object to have on the home mantle in the 19th century, few examples of this type of clock survive today, suggesting they were fragile and not many were made. Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts has a fine example on which is inscribed: "Made by Simon Willard in 1833 in his 80th year." The Clock Museum in Bristol, Connecticut also has examples of the Lighthouse Timepiece in its collection.