The Tower Clocks of Newburyport
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
- Andy Warhol
In London, Big Ben is down for repairs. In Newburyport, we have eleven of our own “Big Bens” – some just as old, and most still working! In an era of the Internet, smart phones, and digital watches, we take “time” for granted. Yet, historically, our tower clocks were key to shipping and industry – critical for Newburyport ship captains to calibrate their navigation, and the reference for factory schedules, because "time is money".
Join us to learn more about the Tower Clocks of Newburyport, and the people that made them possible, from an era when, literally and figuratively, time was at the center of our community.
Jack Santos is a Newburyport history aficionado. He has done extensive research on Newburyport’s Wheelwright family, and started the popular “If This House Could Talk” Yankee Homecoming event. Jack believes (until proven wrong) that Newburyport, for a city its size, holds the world record for number of tower and street clocks in a one-mile radius.
