Greensboro Clocks

​Yankee Ingenuity Heads South
 
Mark Twain was dead on when he chose to send a Connecticut Yankee hurtling back in time to King Arthur’s Court to “wise-up” 6th Century folks and show them the glories of the American Industrial Revolution.  Eli Whitney, a native New Englander, came south to invent the cotton gin, then returned to Connecticut to single-handedly bring about the mass-production of his machine.

Another Connecticut Eli is known as the Father of Connecticut Clock making.  Inspired by Whitney and his mass-produced cotton gin, Eli Terry devised a way to turn out large numbers of simple but highly decorative clocks with interchangeable wooden works.  Thus was opened a fascinating chapter in the history of decorative arts in Georgia and how mantle clocks with Connecticut works ended up on early 19th Century homes in the South.

​Our well-documented clock making connection between Connecticut and Georgia involves the now extremely valuable Greensboro clock.  Parts for the clocks came by rail from the North to Macon and were carried by wagon to Greensboro until 1836, when the Georgia Railroad put a line through Greensboro.  The two Connecticut men who were partners in this business were Mr. Davis and Mr. Barber.  Many believe that here and around the South, slave labor was often used to assemble the parts to make clocks.  Unlike many itinerant clock sellers, these two men became well-established and respected members of the community.  The clockmakers’ business flourished until 1849.