Weight driven Seth Thomas circa 1850

Seth Thomas became an apprentice to the clockmaking trade in the early 1800s. He worked with Silas Hoadley from about 1808 to 1810. The young Seth worked under the supervision of Eli Terry just outside Waterbury, Connecticut. Eli Terry needed help to fulfill a contract for four thousand wooden hang-up clocks, including their movements, pendulums, dials, and hands. Seth Thomas, as a joiner, assembled the clocks using his wood-working techniques. He was not finished with a clock until it was in running order.

Seth Thomas Ogee circa 1860

In 1810, Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley bought Eli Terry's plant. They made tall-case clocks and thirty-hour clocks with wooden movements. In 1813, Seth Thomas sold his share of the business to Silas and bought a shop in Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut. In his new shop he made tall-case clocks with wooden movements. This shop remained his work-place until 1853.

Seth Thomas Alarm Clock circa 1880

In 1839, Seth Thomas changed from using wooden clock works to thirty-hour brass clock movements. About 1850 he began using springs instead of weights to power his clocks.

Seth Thomas Cottage Clock circa 1880

Seth Thomas was known for his clockmaking skills, but he was also considered to be a good businessman. He deversified his financial interests and acquired a considerable amount of farmland. In the early 1800s just before he turned 50 years old, he bought a cotton factory, which he operated profitably until the Civil War began in 1861. By 1844 Seth Thomas had stopped making wooden clocks. As a traditionalist he was reluctant to change his clockmaking methods, but producing brass clocks was more profitable. Thomas' company was soon producing twenty thousand brass clocks a year. At the height of his brass clock production, he built a brass rolling mill called the Thomas Manufacturing Company.

Round Top Shelf Clock circa 1890

From 1853 until 1865, the Seth Thomas Clock Company operated in Plymouth Hollow. After Thomas died in 1859, his three sons, Aaron, Edward, and Seth Junior carried on the business. The company under the management of his sons created many new models of spring-driven clocks. In addition, calendar clocks became an important part of their line.

Seth Thomas Adamantine Case circa 1890

The residents of Plymouth Hollow respected Seth Thomas for the industries he established in the town and to show their appreciation, the town was renamed Thomaston six years after his death.

Seth Thomas Westminster Mantel circa 1839

In the 1880s, the Seth Thomas Clock Company employed about 825 people. Over seventy of them were children. The workers put in a ten-hour workday and were paid from $1.50 to $3.00 a day. In the 1880s that was considered a very good wage. Skilled mechanics were at the top of the pay scale, while laborers were at the bottom. With this staff, the company produced approximately $730,000 in clocks a year

The Seth Thomas Company, in the hands of family members, remained a success. It holds the distinction of being the longest established American Clockmaking company. Seth Thomas profited from his leadership ability, becoming one of the wealthiest men in Connecticut by the time of his death in 1859.

Seth Thomas Electric circa 1960

In 1879, the Seth Thomas Clock Company and Seth Thomas Sons & Company consolidated. In 1931 the Seth Thomas Clock Company became a division of General Time Corporation. Seth Thomas' great-grandson, Seth E. Thomas Jr., was chairman of the board until his death in 1932. The company's leadership then passed out of the family's hands and in 1970 became a division of Talley Industries.

One of the last clocks built in
the Seth Thomas factory circa 1984