In order to produce clocks with a calendar mechanism for which Henry B. Horton had been given a patent on April 18, 1865, as well as for an upgrade that had been patented on August 28, 1866, the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company was established in 1865. They started their business in 1865 with very little money.
A nearby foundry made some of the early clocks produced by the company, which were mounted in iron front boxes that Horton had patented in 1866. Later, the business produced wooden casings in a variety of designs. Prior to 1890, the Connecticut-based companies E. N. Welch and Laporte Hubbell produced most of the top clock movements. Ithaca produced the calendar mechanism, and the clocks were constructed, examined, and sold from there. On June 11, 1867, Henry Horton and Merritt Wood patented a method for testing clock mechanisms, with the claim that up to 108 clocks could be inspected in a single day.
The business relocated to a new location in 1866, and a joint stock corporation was established. The company prospered to the point that construction of a new, three-story structure began in 1874 and was completed in June of the following year. On February 12, 1876, a fire completely destroyed this building, but soon after, a new factory was built and it still stands today.
Undoubtedly, the years between 1875 and 1900 saw the company’s greatest profitability. A non-calendar floor standing clock was added to the company’s portfolio in 1898. For almost 20 years, Ithaca “grandfather” clocks with low-cost spring or weight-driven Connecticut movements were produced.
Over a 50-year span, literally dozens of different regular calendar models were produced, ranging in height from under 16 to 72 inches tall in both mantel and hanging forms. There are some model differences since some of the models underwent redesigns throughout this 50-year span. These variances can vary from little changes in proportions to situations where the identical models have an entirely new appearance. Numerous custom order versions, some in floor standing cases, were created as the company made the cases.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 1917, and on March 14, 1917, the firm’s real estate and personal goods were sold at public auction to pay off its debts.