Waller County Courthouse Clock & Bell Tower

This tower is the permanent home of the original Waller County Courthouse clock and bell. Cast in 1894 by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, the bell was a functional adornment to the courthouse. The clock, with its 8-foot pendulum, was constructed by the Seth Thomas Clock Company of Chicago. Although the original courthouse was demolished between 1954 and 1955, most of the original clock and bell were preserved. Beginning in 1991, the Waller County Historical Society spearheaded the restoration of both the clock and bell, raising funds during a campaign called "One Moment in Time." In 1998, construction commenced on a tower, although the project was stalled for many years. The clock and bell tower was finally completed in 2012.

The County of Waller, Texas, has had four courthouses in its history. The first was a simple frame building known as the "Texas House," which was rented by the County for $25 a month. In the nearby public square, a log cabin contained a one-room jail. In 1877, a more substantial brick courthouse was built, along with a new jail. This courthouse burned down in 1892, however, and another brick courthouse was erected in its place in 1894. This grand courthouse became known as "The Old Waller County Courthouse," and it lasted for several decades, until it was eventually demolished between 1954 and 1955. At that time, a new three-story courthouse was designed in a Modernist style by the architect Herbert Voelker. The new courthouse was constructed from limestone and brick, and it remains standing to the present day.

When the old Waller County Courthouse was demolished, efforts were made to preserve the original clock and bell. Weighing one thousand pounds, the bell was cast in 1894 at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Walter Buckley, an expert from the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Chicago, designed a clock that had been installed at the old courthouse. The clock had four iron dials and an eight-foot long pendulum rod crafted from octagonal rosewood. The mechanism of the clock was initially powered by 1300-pound weights suspended from pulleys, although an electric motor was later added in 1947 to power both the clock and the bell. For a period of time, the clock was relocated to the new courthouse following the demolition of the old building. The clock's mechanism was also used to power the original bell, which continued tolling the hours from atop the new courthouse roof.

After the clock mechanism broke in 1971, it was not repaired for two decades, until the Waller County Historical Society came forward to oversee the restoration in 1991. They launched a successful fundraising campaign titled "One Moment in Time." The historical society was eventually able to hire Lloyd Larish, the owner and Master Tower Clock Repairman of the House of Clocks in Faribault, Minnesota, who completed the restoration in 1997. In conjunction with the restoration, the construction of a new tower for the clock and bell was scheduled to commence the following year. However, the project became stalled, and it was not fully completed until 2012. During the interim, the original clock and its mechanism were placed on display in the courthouse lobby until December 2010, while the bell was placed in a temporary wooden tower in front of the courthouse. Once the project was finally finished, it included a sturdy new clock tower for both the restored clock and bell. The Waller County Historical Society added a historical marker to the tower in 2012.

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"Waller County Courthouse," Texas Escapes. Accessed May 15th, 2023. http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsSouth/Hempstead-TX-Waller-County-Courthouse.htm.