Gilbert Clock Returns to Beardsley & Memorial Library

Gilbert Clock Returns to Beardsley & Memorial Library

The Gilbert Clock once again hangs at the Beardsley & Memorial Library, 40 Munro Place in Winsted. Mr. Melvin Brown of Old Time Clock Repairs and Restorations in Burlington has restored the 1900 timepiece. The clock was refit with a period weight-driven movement; the weight and pendulum bob are period parts, while the balance of the pendulum and weight pulley are reproductions. Mr. Brown volunteered his services for this detailed work and the Friends of the Beardsley & Memorial Library contributed the $500 for the clock's replacement parts.

The clock was originally purchased in 1900 from the Wm. L. Gilbert Clock Co. in Winsted by Miss Mary Hindsdale for $13.50. On February 21 of that year, it was delivered and hung at the Beardsley Library in the Beardsley Block on Main Street in Winsted.

The Beardsley Library was organized in 1874 when Mrs. Elliot Beardsley gave the sum of $10,000 to seven trustees to establish a library in West Winsted. In 1898, a bequest by Jenison Whiting made possible the purchase of the land and construction of the original part of the present building at 40 Munro Place, and in 1899 this became the free public Memorial Library (Mr. Whiting did not want his name attached to the building). In 1939 there was a consolidation of the Whiting and Beardsley boards of trustees by a special act of the General Assembly, and the official name became the Beardsley & Memorial Library. The Gilbert clock was moved from the Beardsley Block to Munro Place and was hung to the side of the circulation desk. In the 1960s the clock was electrified, and later fell into disrepair and was stored in the Library Genealogy Room. It is a source of great pride that the clock has been restored and is now hanging in the library.

Because of a lighting fixture and a wall rack the clock could not be rehung in its original location, but it is quite close to its former home. A group effort of the library board of trustees, the Genealogy Department volunteers, the Friends of the Library and the library staff brought this project to fruition. Please visit the library and enjoy our old timepiece.