Since 1884: a Westclox timeline
From a small workshop in Peru, Illinois, to Big Ben, Baby Ben and the first alarm clock ever advertised nationwide: the Westclox story, told in 19 dates.
Our logo says "Since 1884," and that's when the story starts. Here's the short version of everything since.
1884 · Westward to Peru. Clockmaker Charles Stahlberg and his partners come from Waterbury, Connecticut, to Peru, Illinois, to build clocks around Stahlberg's new design. Their first shop is behind Brylski's Department Store.
1885 · United Clock Company. The company is formed, and Stahlberg receives a patent.
1887 · Try again. After its first bankruptcy, the business reorganizes as the Western Clock Company. But the fresh start doesn't last.
1888 · Matthiessen steps in. Local industrialist F. W. Matthiessen reorganizes the business as the Western Clock Manufacturing Company. This time it sticks.
1908 · Big Ben is born. The bell-back alarm movement is patented, and advertising manager Gaston LeRoy names the new clock Big Ben. Sales begin in 1909.
1910 · Coast to coast. Big Ben becomes the first alarm clock advertised nationally, in the September 24 Saturday Evening Post. A two-inch Baby Ben goes on sale.
1913 · Tick Talk begins. The company magazine starts covering life at the plant. It will run for 58 years.
1915 · Baby Ben, properly. The improved Baby Ben is formally introduced on page one of the Saturday Evening Post.
1916 · Westclox, registered. The Westclox trademark is registered on January 18. The company adopts the Westclox name in 1923.
1923 · The Saturday vote. Workers vote 2,176 to 49 to keep their half-day Saturdays.
1930 · General Time. Westclox and the Seth Thomas Clock Company approve a plan to combine under General Time Instruments Corporation.
1938 · Hit the road. Westclox introduces its first portable travel alarm.
1943 · The Waralarm. Westclox makes the Waralarm with a molded wood-fiber case to save brass while the plant produces millions of fuzes for the war effort. Regular civilian production resumes in 1946.
1971 · Last issue. The final issue of the original Tick Talk is published.
1972 · Quartz. Westclox introduces its first quartz movement.
1980 · Leaving Peru. After nearly a century of clockmaking, the historic LaSalle–Peru factory closes on March 31, 1980, as manufacturing shifts to other locations.
2007 · A new home. NYL Holdings acquires Westclox, along with Big Ben and Baby Ben.
2012 · Fire at the old plant. A New Year's Day fire damages about a quarter of the historic factory, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2026 · Tick Talk returns. Issue No. 1, "The Extra Hour," is published on October 28.
Every one of these dates deserves a story of its own, and we'll be telling them in the issues ahead. Big Ben and Baby Ben are still on nightstands today: see the Big Ben collection. If you have something to add to the timeline, such as a photo, a catalog or a clock with a date on its movement, write to Tick Talk.
Big Ben becomes the first alarm clock advertised nationally.
