Residents of Crown Point can take off their wrist watch and stop using their cell phones to check the time. The clock atop the Old Courthouse is now ticking as of Saturday after four weeks of being out of commission.
Being the highest point in Lake County, it has always been the focal point of the city. Many residents over the years have referred to it as the “time keeper of the city.”
The clock was recently restored by Grand Crossing Engineering in Cedar Lake who installed the new motor with the help of Jack Laninga of Primetime Clock Shop.
The engineers redesigned the whole system making it an electrified one modernizing it to today’s standards. They eliminated six gears and now there is only one. A handle was put on it to set the time. “It used to be a real bear to set the time, now it’s real easy,” said Laninga. The way it’s designed now, the motor can be changed in about 10 minutes.
The clock was originally installed in 1878, the frame is original, and it was built by the E. Howard Clock Company, “they were one of the highest quality clock manufactures of their time,” stated Laninga.
The Clock used to be weight driven with a pendulum that had to be hand-wound once a week. When clock fell into disrepair in the late 70s the weights were eliminated.
The clock’s motor had to be pulled out because the gear train was worn making it obsolete. The gear had to be made because a used one could not be found. Weeks were spent looking for the parts like a needle in a haystack.
It originally had a motor with intermediate wheels with a transfer case to make the clock run on time, but that was recently removed, now it has a direct drive motor. The bell that rings every hour on the hour was repaired also.
One hope is that the new system is easier to repair making it cost less to maintain. The cost of the work on the clock is approximately $2,000. The repairs have been covered by the Lake Courthouse Foundation, Inc. for the historical preservation of the building.
To inquire more information or to make a donation call President Marty Wheeler at 219-663-0660.