The Clock

At the heart of Bangor and the focal point of the Heritage Center is the town clock. The gentle tic-tock pulses like the heart of the town and the hourly chimes echo through the borough with a sound as familiar to its residents as the fog whistles are to the residents of San Francisco. The antique four-faced clock was manufactured by the E. Howard Clock Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, and was installed in the borough hall in 1907. In addition to being Bangor’s timepiece, the clock chimed a coded ring to alert the borough fire department as to the location of the fire. They also used the tower to hang the fire hoses after a fire to dry.

After a period of neglect when the chimes fell silent, the Slate Belt Heritage Center, under the guidance and care of Jay Albert, brought the historic clock back to life again in early 2000. The help of a generous personal donation helped Jay to single-handedly restore the faces. The clock mechanism was restored by David Morgan, former president of the Worldwide Clock Towers Association.

Access to the inside of the clock tower is precarious, so it is the intent of the Heritage Center to provide visitors with a video showing the historic timepiece in action. Viewers are able to see the mechanics involved in every second of the clocks service.