PORT ANGELES — The clock tower atop the Clallam County Courthouse on Lincoln Street is music to the ears of many, chiming on the half-hour and, on the hour, counting the time with resonating gongs.
On Saturday and Sunday, four tours of the clock tower were offered as a part of the Port Angeles Heritage Days’ sesquicentennial celebration, which included historic tours, reenactments and a children’s carnival.
About 30 people showed up for the Sunday morning tour, guided by County Commissioner Mike Doherty, an amateur historian.
After an overview of county history, Doherty led the group to the courthouse’s mostly unused third floor, where a restored stained-glass ceiling could be seen from above.
Dusty, antique desks and chairs also share the area, along with doors, signs and old county maps.
At one end of the room, a small door beckons one into the tower, where the clockworks descend from the clock and bell above, and a wooden ladder, built into one wall, leads into the tower above.
Andrea Mahany, 43, of Port Angeles was there with her two elementary-school age children.
“I brought them for the history,” Mahany said, pointing out the antique gears and chains behind the tower door.
The Mahany family recently moved here from Florida.
It’s good to know the history of one’s new home, Mahany said.
The courthouse cost about $60,000 to build in 1914, of which $5,000 totaled the cost of the clocks and their associated parts.
Back then, “clocks were quite valuable,” Doherty said.
The bell itself is somewhat unusual, in that the clapper is located outside of the bell, rather than striking the bronze from the inside, he said.
Doherty explained that the outside clapper changes the tone of the Clallam County bell, which lacks a sharp note common to similar bells and gives it a much different “voice.”
Port Angeles residents Mary Sue French and Beth Witters examined with interest the complex set of gears and wheels behind the four clock faces.
At one point, a long metal rod with a wing attached at each end, suddenly whirred to life at 11:30 a.m., spinning, then stopped.
French and Witters debated the purpose of the mechanism, and waited for more movement, but the rod didn’t move again during the tour.
Doherty said he didn’t know the exact purpose of the rod or the timing of its movement.
The Jefferson County Courthouse has a similar bell but a differently designed clock tower, he said.
In two years, the Clallam courthouse and clock tower will be 100 years old, but the bell is at least seven years older, Doherty said.
The bell was purchased at a discount because it had been sitting in a warehouse in Seattle waiting for payment from another source, he said.
When the bell was initially installed, it was spring-operated, with a hand-crank that had to be wound every few days to keep the clock going.
In the 1920s or ’30s, the crank was replaced by an electric motor, reducing the amount of time it took to maintain the clock, he said.
There also was a large flagpole at the top of the tower, with an oversize flag.
During a storm, the weight of the large flag broke the pole, and it was never replaced, Doherty said.
Other Heritage Days events Sunday was a kids carnival, genealogical event, underground tour and driving tours of historic homes.
Saturday saw a Civil War reenactment on the courthouse lawn, an ice cream social and the Celebration of Clallam County Schools hosted by the historical society.
The latter event was a success beyond what organizers had hoped for, said Kathy Monds, executive director of the Clallam County Historical Society.
Organized for the sesquicentennial celebration, the event featured photo displays of schools through the years and a car show.
“It was a fabulous weekend. It was very successful and fun,” said Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd of the overall Heritage Days experience.
Kidd gave credit to the hard work of Barb Fredericks, executive director of the Port Angeles Downtown Association, for what Kidd called “the most successful Heritage Days ever.”
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
