Elgin National Watch Company
Posted by: 
geognerd
N 42° 01.783 W 088° 16.642
16T E 394259 N 4653864
Marking the location of the Elgin National Watch Company, now the site of a strip mall.
Waymark Code: WM87R
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/01/2006
Views: 127
The Elgin National Watch Factory was constructed in 1865 and eventually became the largest watch factory in the world. The factory was an integral part of Elgin's history, employing many of the city's residents who resided in nearby housing constructed by the company. The factory produced as many as 2 million watches annually. By the time the factory had closed and was demolished in 1966, it had produced over 60 million watches. Production was moved to South Carolina in attempts to reduce costs, but the company could not compete with foreign competitors. The famous clock tower was demolished by dynamite in 1967.
Nearby sites associated with the watch factory are the restored train depot farther east on National Street at N42 01.833 W88 16.573. The observatory, used for timing the watches astronomically, is at the corner of Watch Street and Raymond Street (N42 01.810 W88 16.421). National Geodetic Survey benchmarks can be found at the observatory site, which is now owned by School District U-46.
It is unfortunate that the marker for the watch factory lies in a parking lot median at the busy entrance of a shopping center. Also unfortunate that the marker has not held up, with two letters having fallen off. Were it not for the marker and the name of the shopping center, Clock Tower Plaza, few people would know the significance of the site.
Check out the image gallery. I have uploaded aerial photos from 1939 and 2005. The factory is visible in the 1939 image.
For more information:
Encyclopedia of Chicago
Elgin: An American History
A photo of the clock tower
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