By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–Many Henry Countians have missed the reassuring sounds of the bells from the Henry County Courthouse Clock Tower and the County Mayor’s office regularly receives calls from citizens wondering why the clock has not been working, but it will take a bit longer for the bells to begin chiming again.
County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway said the price tag for repairing the motor in the clock “is well over $9,000. And with the motor being at least 60 years old, we can’t buy a replacement because they don’t make them anymore. So we’re looking at repairing it.”
A gear in the motor is broken and Courthouse Maintenance Director Jeff Charles has been working for some time on finding a replacement.
Before his election as County Mayor in November, Ridgeway was Vice-President of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) and said employees in the TCAT mechanical departments may be able to repair it.
“I’m pretty optimistic they could do it but it’s a very precise job and it will take a while longer,” Ridgeway said. “We get a lot of calls on that and we hope the public knows we’re in the process of fixing it.”
The Courthouse was constructed in 1896 and this year is its 125th anniversary.
The tower clock is a “No. 1 Striker” which was ordered in 1896 by Jeweler J.P. Jones from the E. Howard Clock Company. A total $670 was paid for the clock.
For many years, the clock was maintained by Paris Dr. John Van Dyck, with J.C. Ramos performing those services in later years.
Originally, two weights would have driven the time and strike trains. The clock would have been rewound manually on a weekly or semi-weekly basis. In the 1950s, the clock was electrified.
The bell was cast by William Kaye of Louisville, Kentucky. The alloy is said to contain the metal of several silver dollars donated by the citizens of Paris to give it a clearer sound.
Photo by Shannon McFarlin.