Early New York Clockmaking

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Early New York Clockmaking (18th-Early 19th Century)

In a comprehensive survey of American clockmakers operating before 1825, New York ranked third with 122 clockmakers, behind Pennsylvania (194) and Massachusetts (151), but ahead of Connecticut (119).

During this period, New England and New York emerged as two primary locations for the clock making industry.

Notable Early Clockmakers

Joseph Ives made a significant innovation when he created one of the first spring-driven clocks in the United States using a wagon spring movement in 1828 in his Brooklyn workshop.

In New Jersey (part of the greater New York region), Isaac Brokaw (1746-1826) in Elizabethtown was known for his handcrafted clock pieces, including hand-hammering brass dials. Aaron Dodd Crane (1804-1860) in Newark published several patents for improving clock mechanisms, and his clocks were marketed as far as New York and Boston.

Central and Western New York (Early-Mid 19th Century)

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 dramatically changed New York's clockmaking landscape. The canal linked Buffalo on Lake Erie with Albany on the Hudson, making New York City the gateway for foreign commerce and transforming Central New York into a thriving agricultural region.

Auburn Clockmakers

Asa Munger was a prominent Auburn clockmaker who was also a silversmith. He married in 1801 and moved to Auburn around 1805, where he spent the rest of his life making clocks until his death on March 2, 1851.

Munger and Benedict operated as a partnership around 1833, and Hotchkiss and Benedict worked around 1830-1835. The Hotchkiss and Benedict clocks were made under the same patents as Munger's, featuring wooden dials with their names and a coat of arms.

Connecticut Influence

Interestingly, much of New York's clock industry was influenced by Connecticut manufacturers. Riley Whiting sent clock parts to Scottsville where they were assembled, cased, and labeled with local names. Chauncey Boardman sent entire movements to Newark where they were cased and labeled locally.

Industrial Era (Late 19th-Early 20th Century)

Major New York Clock Companies

Ansonia Clock Company - One of New York's most famous clockmakers. The Ansonia name comes from industrialist Anson Phelps, who owned a brass foundry and wanted to take controlling interest in clockmakers Terry and Andrews in Connecticut to create vertical integration for selling his brass. Ansonia produced heavily ornamented clocks, including statue clocks and carved walnut clocks from the 1880s.

Ansonia made extensive lines of enameled iron clocks with cast-iron cases painted shiny black to imitate expensive French black slate clocks at prices the average person could afford.

Ithaca Calendar Clock Company - This company operated in Ithaca, New York in the late 1800s.

Museums and Preservation

The Hoffman Clock Museum in Newark, New York was founded in 1951 after the death of Jenny Hoffman, widow of Augustus Hoffman, a New York jeweler and clock collector who died in 1945. The museum displays more than 100 examples of timekeeping throughout modern history and is one of only eight museums in the entire country devoted exclusively to clocks, and the only one in New York State.

New York's Role in American Clockmaking

New York served both as a manufacturing center and as a major distribution hub. New York City's position as a commercial gateway meant that clocks from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Europe all flowed through the city to reach customers nationwide. The state's clockmakers ranged from skilled artisans crafting individual pieces in the 18th century to major industrial manufacturers in the late 19th century producing affordable clocks for the mass market.