Clock Makers

“You may delay, but time will not.”
- Benjamin Franklin

The images above are of a tall case clock (popularly known as a grandfather's clock) engraved with the words Thos Liddell, Frederick Town, 1760. This clock is in the collection of the Historical Society of Frederick County. The Society believes by the inscription and the provenance of this clock that it was indeed made in Frederick Town at that time, more than fifteen years before the American Revolution. Frederick became a base for a number of famous clockmakers and many other craftsmen.

The clock has become a symbol of The Dreaming for several reasons. First, it required top notch craftsmen in a number of fields (clockmaking, metal working, wood working) to produce this beautiful object. Considered with many other objects and records from the period, it demonstrates that Frederick has been the home of fine craftsmen from its earliest days.

Second, the clock is a reminder that dreams may be unlimited, but pursuing them will not be an option forever. As Ben Franklin said, "You may delay, but time will not."

Finally, the time of 10:11 shown on the clock face in The Dreaming is symbolic. The hands of the clock stood at eleven minutes after ten when the elected officials of Frederick County voted to affirm their financial support of this innovative work in the face of an organized effort to derail and destroy the project. The time on the clock has become symbolic of the choice point, when a decision line is crossed and a dream takes a step forward into reality.

Photos Courtesy the Historical Society of Frederick County, Inc