Tower Clock Installation Records
based on
Early American Tower Clocks©

by Frederick M. Shelley

Section III


Mathias Schwalbach Clocks

The format of this listing is slightly different, to permit listing the model number.

Model   City            State   Date    Clock?  Building

#2      La Salle,       IL      --      --      St. Hyacinth's Church
#1      Chicago,        IL      1894    --      St. Michael's Church

#3      Muscatine,      IA      1904    --      St. Mary's Church

#4      Mt. Vernon,     IN      1890    --      St. Matthew's Church

#2      Ellinwood,      KS      --      N       St. Joseph's Church

#4      Earlington,     KY      1888    --      Church of the Immaculate Conception

#4      Grand Haven,    MI      1890    --      First Reformed Church

#2      Westphalia,     MI      1897    --      St. Mary's Church
#?      Muskegon,       MI      8/26/1905Y      St. Paul's Evang. Lutheran Church
                                $390; bell clock & dials.

#2      Chaska          MN      1890    --      Guardian Angel Church
#2      Chaska,         MN      1903    --      Guardian Angel Church
                                                (Orig, church burned)
#2      New Ulm,        MN      --      --      Holy Trinity Church
#2      Jordan,         MN      1890    --      St. John the Bap't Church
#2      St. Joseph's    MN      --      --      St. Joseph's Church
#3      New Munich,     MN      1897    --      St. Mary's Church
#2      Norwood,        MN      --      --      St. Mary's Church
#2      Stillwater,     MN      1905    --      St. Mary's Church
#4      Glencoe,        MN      --      --      Sts. Peter & Paul Church

#?      David City,     NE      1911    Y*      St. Mary's Church ****

#1      Buffalo,        NY      1903    N       St. Mary of the Rosary Church

#       Minster,        OH      1903    --      St. Augustin Church

#       Mt. Angel,      OR      --      --      Mount Angel College

#2      Windhorst,      TX      1925**  Y       St. Mary's Catholic Church

#2      Appleton,       WI      1898    --      St. Joseph's Church
#3      Brillion,       WI      --      --      St. Mary's Church
#2      Burlington,     WI      1889    --      St. Mary's Church
#4      Chilton,        Wi      --      --      St. Mary's Church
#3      Jefferson,      WI      1905            St. John's Ev. Luth. Church
--      Jefferson       WI      1907    --      Puerner Block
#5      Juneau,         WI      1903    --      --  Church?
#3      Kaukauna,       WI      --      --      Holy Cross Church
--      Kewaskum,       WI      --      --      --
--      Lacrosse,       WI      --      --      La Crosse Cathedral
--      Mauston,        WI      --      --      St. Patrick's Church
#2      Milwaukee       WI      1896            St. Michael's Church    
#3      Milwaukee,      WI      1905    N       Cross Lutheran Church
#3      Milwaukee,      WI      --      N       Holy Ghost Lutheran Church
#1      Milwaukee,      WI      1890    N       Holy Trinity - Our Lady of Guadalupe
#4      Milwaukee,      WI      1889    N       Notre Dame Convent (Building demolished)
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1893    Y       Sacred Hearts Church    
#       Milwaukee,      WI      1900    Elec'd  St. Casimir Parish
#       Milwaukee,      WI      --      Elec'd  Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church
#       Milwaukee,      WI      1910    Elec'd. St. Francis of Assisi Church
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1905    N       St. Hyacinth's Church
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1890    Y       St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1901    Elec'd. St. Josephat's Congregation
#       Milwaukee,      WI      --      --      St. Joseph's Congregation
                                                (Church demolished)
#3      Milwaukee,      WI      1901    Elec'd. St. Lucas Ev. Lutheran Church
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1890    N       St. Matthew's Ev. Luth. Church
                                                (Church demolished)
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      1892    N       St. Michael's Congregation
#       Milwaukee,      WI      --      Y       St. Paul's Ev. Luth. Church
#       Milwaukee,      WI      1875    Y       St. Stanislaus Church
#2      Milwaukee,      WI      --      N       St. Vincent De Paul Cong.
#4      Milwaukee,      WI      --      Y       Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church
#3      Newburgh,       WI      1903    --      Holy Trinity Church
#       Pewaukee,       WI      1923    Y       St. Mary's Church***
#3      Newburg,        WI      1903    --      Holy Trinity Church
#3      Stevens Point,  WI      1897    --      St. Peter's Cath. Church
#4      Tomah,          WI      --      Elec'd. St. Mary's Church
#4      Waterford,      WI      1899    Elec'd. St. Thomas of Acquinas
#       Watertown,      WI      --      --      St. Henry's Cath. Church
* Now in a private collection.
** This clock likely came from a different place, as Schwalbach stopped making tower clocks in 1915.
(Or it may be a Star Clock Company clock.  See the note below.)
*** This clock is now in the collections of the American Clock & Watch Museum, Bristol,
Connecticut.  It was made by Mathias' successor, his son, Robert, under the name of the Star Clock Company.
**** Angelus strike. 


Justice Marshall   1876

[No data]



Floria Geiring Clocks

Made major modifications to the Neisser (q.v.) clock in the Central Moravian
Church in Bethlehem, PA, to extend its running time from 30 hours to 8 days.



George W. Russell Clocks

New Holland     PA              Y               Public School           1875



William A. Hendrie Clocks

Detroit         MI      Y (Mus)                 Detroit City Hall       1876



Nels Johnson Clocks

The format of this listing is slightly different, to permit listing the model number.
[Ed.: The original version of this list included only 23 of the approximately 60 clocks 
Johnson is thought to have made.  It has been expanded with data from other sources.
For entries with an asterisk (*) in the Clock? column, see Notes after this table.]

Model      City        State    Date    Clock?  Building

        Los Angeles     CA      --      -- *    Charles Shannabrook
        Los Angeles     CA      1912    --      Los Angeles Times Bldg.  [now Times Mirror]
2       San Jose        CA      1908    Y *     Post Office, now Public Library

        Decorah         IA      1904    --      
        Postville       IA      1890    --      [NOT Pottsville]

        Chicago         IL      1893    --      World's Fair, Michigan Bldg.

        Greensburg      IN      1913    --      Court House
        Michigan City   IN      1899    --      Church

        Princeton       MD      1892    --      County Courthouse

        Arcadia         MI      1894    --      Lutheran Church
        Battle Creek    MI      1911    --      M.E. Church  [later United Methodist]
        Big Rapids      MI      1907    --      Comstock Bank Bldg.
        Cheboygan       MI      1899    --      Court House
        Detroit         MI      --      --      Church  [possibly a false report]
        Detroit         MI      --      --      [false report]
        Detroit         MI      1891    --      Union Depot, Fort St.
        Detroit         MI      1891    Y *     Post Office
        Gaylord         MI      1892    --      St.Mary's Church
        Grand Haven     MI      1903    N       First Reformed Church (burned 1913)
        Grand Haven     MI      1913    N       First Reformed Church (replacement)
        Grand Rapids    MI      1907    --      Second St. M.E. Church
        Holland         MI      --      --      Bank
        Ithaca          MI      1905    Y *     Gratiot County Court House
        Lansing         MI      1896    --      City Hall
        Ludington       MI      1891    --      City Hall
        Ludington       MI      1906    Y *     Mason County Court House
        Manistee        MI      1889?   --      A.N.Johnson's Machine Shop
        Manistee        MI      --      --      A.O.Wheeler
        Manistee        MI      --      --      Canfield Tug Line
        Manistee        MI      1900    N *     F.C.Larsen, Wholesale & Retail Merchant
        Manistee        MI      1892    --      First Congregational Church
        Manistee        MI      1893    --      First Methodist Episcopal Church
        Manistee        MI      --      --      Guardian Angels Church
        Manistee        MI      --      --      Manistee Brewing Company
        Manistee        MI      --      --      Manistee County Savings Bank Bldg.
        Manistee        MI      --      --      P.T.Glassmire
3       Manistee        MI      1894    Y *     St.Joseph's Polish Catholic Church
        Manistee        MI      --      --      Wm.Beverly, Merchant
        Mt.Pleasant     MI      1907    --      Methodist Church
1       Muskegon        MI      1889    Y *     Lyman Building
        Paw Paw         MI      1904    --      Court House
        Pontiac         MI      1913    --      Oakland County Court House
        St. Joseph      MI      1896    --      Court House
        Traverse City   MI      1901    --      Grand Traverse Court House

        Good Thunder    MN      1895    --      Church
        Mankato         MN      1896    --      City Hall
2       Pelican Rapids  MN      1905    Y       Faith Lutheran Church (formerly ?)

        Rochester       NY      1892    --      Lutheran? Church

        Xenia           OH      1902    --      Court House (city or Greene County?)
        
        Philadelphia    PA      1899    --      English Lutheran Church

        Memphis         TN      1899    --      U.S. Customs House

        Dallas          TX      1897    --      (unknown)
        Denton          TX      1896    --      Court House
		Gatesville	    TX      --      --      Court House

        Chilton         WI      1916    -- *    St.Mary's Catholic Church
        Fond du Lac     WI      1894?   --      Church
        Fond du Lac     WI      1900    --      Court House
        Milwaukee       WI      --      --      12th Street Lutheran Church
        Milwaukee       WI      1891    --      Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church
        Milwaukee       WI      1895?   --      City Hall
        Milwaukee       WI      1890    --      Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
3       Milwaukee       WI      1894    -- *    Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Foreign Installations:
        Chengtu, West China     1914    --      Methodist Episcopal Hospital
        Lucknow, India          1910    --      Isabella Thoburn College
Editor's Notes (in order of appearance above):
 * Los Angeles, CA:   The Shanabrook clock is probably a grandfather clock, one of four that Johnson made for his children.
 * San Jose, CA:   Not 1909 as originally listed; cost $5000 including bell
 * Detroit, MI:   Post Office clock now in Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI.
 * Ithaca, MI:   Clock installed 1905; Meneely/Watervliet bell added in 1906; electrified 1945.
 * Ludington, MI:   Court House clock extant as of 2010.
 * Manistee, MI:   Larsen Bldg. clock destroyed by fire in 1913.
 * Manistee, MI:   St.Joseph's clock was electrified in 1989 by I.T. Verdin.  It also strikes the Angelus — it is not known whether this is a Johnson design or a Verdin modification.
 * Muskegon, MI:   Now in a private collection.
 * Chilton, WI:   Installed by son August Johnson, but must have been made earlier
 * Milwaukee, WI:   Zion's clock was made in 1880 for the Milwaukee Exposition of that year.

There are three known models of Johnson clocks.
The first is a simple timepiece, illustrated in NAWCC Bulletin #294, p.91.
The second is a time and strike, illustrated in Bulletin #108, Pg. 88; #271, p.194.
The third is a three train to strike the quarters, illustrated in Bulletin #108, p.86.
All three models are also illustrated in the 1895 catalog published by Johnson, a copy of which is currently held by the NAWCC Library. 



David Powers Clocks


Milwaukee       WI              N       Unknown                         1876



S. W. Robinson Clocks


Urbana          IL              Y       University of Illinois          1878



Carl Ericson Clocks


Sioux Falls     SD              N       Masonic Temple                  1879



Ansonia Clock Company Clocks


We know of no installation locations                               post 1879
for either tower or street clocks.  
Two tower clocks are known to be in private collections.



Alfred Clifford Clocks


Phillipston     MA              Y       Congregational Church           1880



Moody Haskell Clocks


Burlington      VT              N       Unitarian Church                1888?



Heebner, David S.            1884

[No data]



Joseph Barborka Clocks


Iowa City       IA              Y       City Hall                       --
Iowa City       IA              Y       St. Mary's Church               1885
New York City   NY              **      McAlpin Hotel                   1899
Iowa City       IA              N       Dostel Brewery                  --
Rock Island     IL              *       Rock Island Lines Pass. Depot   1901
Louisville      KY              N       Post Office                     --
Minneapolis     MN              *       Federal Courts Building         --
Omaha           NE              Y       Post Office                     --
Carson City     NV              Y       Post Office                     --
Some 30 clocks are said to have been made by Barborka between 1876 and 1921,
but the exact number is not known.
* Now in a private collection.
**  Street, or post, clock, location unknown.



Adam Edward Pollhans/George J. Hoffmann Clocks

See Pollhans/Hoffmann Clocks [originally] in Section 2 [now in a separate page].



David Brooke Johnson Clocks


Fort Washington PA              Y       Elmer Dungan Residence          192?
Collegeville    PA              Y       Ursinus College                 192?
Ambler          PA              Y       Owned by D.B. Johnson's son.    192?



Johnson, Warren Seymour      1895

[No data]



Logan, Sydney Algernon		1920

[No data]



Balzer Clockworks Clocks
(from the company Website)

#101 - Freeport, L.L.Bean - 1994
#102 - Colby College - 1997
#103 - The National Science Center, Augusta, Georgia
#104 - Priority Properties, LLC, Topsham, Maine (street clock)
#105 - Hokkaido University of Science, Sapporo, Japan (with custom-cast bell) - 2014
#106 - Don Saff (Collector), Oxford, Maryland (indoors pedestal)
#107 - Durward R. Center (Collector), Baltimore, Maryland (indoors pedestal)
#108 - Fair Haven Middle School, New Haven, Connecticut 
#109 - Neiman Marcus, Coral Gables, Florida
#110 - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas - 2006
#111 - Twin City Gold, Bidderford, ME (indoors pedestal)
End of Section III

Go to: Section 1
Go to: Section 2

Return to the main American Tower Clocks page.

Compare Donn's original version of this page (archived).

This page was last revised on 6 Dec 2025.

Questions?   Comments?   if you have further information, note an error, or have a question.