Adair County Courthouse Clock - Columbia, KY - Town Clocks on Waymarking.com

The clock has a white face with black Roman numerals. The hands are black arrows. The clock is currently inoperable, but there is a current effort and funding to repair the clock(s) to a working status again. There is a duplicated clock on each side of the clock tower.

""When my dad passed away all the clocks in the house stopped working," said Charles Grimsley. "The silence was deafening; no one could sleep. That's what it is like without our clock; the silence is deafening." The Courthouse clock has not chimed in over 15 years. The new clock will be expected to be fully installed 45 days after the shipment has arrived. "We don't have a system that actually hits the bell," Grimsley explained. "It is actually less expensive to do the sound system. However, the new system will replicate the sound of the bell." Columbia's new clock will be able to play familiar tunes for Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Lent, and other special events and seasons, The new sound system will be easier to manage and maintain given its new location in the bell tower.

"The motor in the clock is a 1930-1940's model," said Grimsley. "Part of it is missing. So, it was more expensive to fix the motor rather than replace it. The only problem is you would still have to have someone to go into the tower and do maintenance on it. With the new system, it is a completely electronic motorized clock. You would be able to control it from a control panel downstairs. The dial, face of the clock, and the hands will be the same." Grimlsey's late father had worked on the clock as well. "Every day you see people who are young enough to have never seen the clock work," said Grimsley. "It is really the center focus of the town." There were originally two shafts within the clock tower that had weights. When the clock was functional the weights would make the clock run. However, those weights broke and fell to the courthouse floor. Since then, the clock has run on a motor that needed to be cranked. Once a week a community member would crank the clock for the week. The new renovation brings an end to the deafening silence and brings back the joy the courthouse clock brings to many."
Source: The Adair Progress (Adair County, Kentucky), 29 Feb 2024, Page A1, "Columbia's Silent Clock to Tick Again".

Status: Not Working Display: Mounted Year built: Not listed Web link to additional info: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of clock.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.