Simon Willard, Clockmaker of Roxbury
A Massachusetts clockmaker from a family of clockmakers, Simon Willard gave America one of its most recognizable clock shapes: the banjo.
A family of clockmakers
Simon Willard was born on April 3, 1753, in Grafton, Massachusetts, and apprenticed to a clockmaker there. He was one of four brothers in the trade. The eldest, Benjamin, began making clocks in Grafton in the mid-1760s and became known for tall longcase clocks, the kind later called grandfather clocks; Britannica dates his start to about 1765, while the Willard House and Clock Museum gives 1766. Ephraim apparently worked with Benjamin, and Aaron became a clockmaker in his own right. The family home in Grafton, the museum says, was the homestead of Joseph Willard, the brothers' grandfather, dating from 1718.
The craft ran on for three generations. Simon's son, Simon Jr. (1795-1874), worked with his father for two years before setting up in Boston, and Aaron's son, also named Aaron, took over his father's Boston business and ran it until about 1850.
See also: how longcase clocks are built and cared for on OnlineClock.app.
Roxbury and the patent timepiece
About 1780 Simon moved to Roxbury, just outside Boston, where he worked until he retired in 1839. Britannica notes that he served a wealthy clientele and specialized in clocks for churches, halls and galleries. Thomas Jefferson commissioned a clock from him for the University of Virginia.
On February 8, 1802, Willard patented an eight-day pendulum timepiece in a case shaped somewhat like a banjo. Willard himself never called it a banjo clock; Britannica notes that the nickname came later, from the shape of the case. He seems to have concentrated on accurate, simple movements, and others probably made many of the cases.
A Willard banjo clock up close
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, holds a Simon Willard banjo clock made in Roxbury between 1802 and 1810. It has a white enameled dial with Roman numerals, a brass bezel, a single ball finial and openwork side arms. The glass panels are pale green on white with gilt borders, the upper one showing a triangle of stars, and the lower one has a small window for watching the pendulum. The museum gives its main dimension as 34 3/4 inches (88.3 cm).
Its case is pine, veneered with mahogany and curly maple. According to the MFA, Miss Theodora Willard of Cambridge bought it in a second-hand shop on Cambridge Street, Boston, in 1892 and left it to the museum in 1937.
Willard did not work alone on these clocks. The Willard House notes that cabinetmakers, gilders and reverse-glass painters all contributed, and names John Doggett and John Ritto Penniman among the Willards' collaborators in Roxbury and Boston.
See also: a labeled tour of a clock's inner parts on OnlineClock.app.
Checking whether a clock is a Willard
Look at the lower door panel. The MFA clock carries the words S. Willard's Patent there in gilt, so that is the lettering to check for first. Remember, though, that other members of the family also made banjo-style clocks: Britannica says Aaron Willard did, and the Willard House shows patent timepieces by three members of the family, including Aaron Willard Jr.
Because several craftsmen and several Willards were involved, attributing an unsigned example is a job for a specialist. The Willard House and Clock Museum, which displays more than 90 Willard clocks in the family's original Grafton homestead and workshop, is a good place to see genuine examples side by side.
Other inventions and legacy
Willard's patents went beyond clocks. Britannica lists a meat-roasting jack driven by a clock mechanism in 1784 and an alarm clock in 1819. He died in Roxbury on August 30, 1848.
The family homestead in North Grafton became the Willard House and Clock Museum, founded by collectors Roger and Imogene Robinson, who bought the property in 1968. The museum's own history gives both 1969 and 1971 for the founding, and says it opened to the public in 1971.
Questions people ask
Did Simon Willard invent the banjo clock?
He patented the design on February 8, 1802, as an eight-day pendulum timepiece. The nickname banjo clock came later, because of the case's shape, and Willard did not use it.
How can I tell if my banjo clock is a real Simon Willard?
Look for S. Willard's Patent in gilt on the lower door panel, as on the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, example, then have a specialist examine the movement and case. Other Willards also made banjo clocks, so a family name alone is not proof of Simon's hand.
Where can I see Willard clocks?
The Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts, shows more than 90 Willard clocks in the family's birthplace and workshop.