The Ottawa County Courthouse

The Ottawa county courthouse was built in 1901 in Port Clinton, Ohio. It has an original #2 E. Howard Special striker that is still weight driven. Several years ago the winding drum that lifts the weights failed and the weights fell, breaking through a thick concrete floor. The only thing that kept the weights from breaking through all the floors to the basement was a large steel beam on the floor below the clock mechanism. The Ottawa county commissioners wanted to keep the clock original and hired us to do a preservation on their E. Howard clock movement, adding auto winders to the clock to ensure that the weights could not fall again. We designed the winders to match the style of original Howard winders. We also did a complete preservation of their four 6-foot diameter tower clock dials and motion works.

Just north of Port Clinton on Lake Erie is the battle site of ‘The Battle of Lake Erie”, during the war of 1812. Master Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry sailed his vessels north to engage a British squadron. Just before the battle Perry hoisted his battle flag, “Don’t give up the ship!” These were the dying words of Commodore Perrys friend, James Lawrence, who was killed on June 1, 1813. Perrys flagship was named after Lawrence. The wind changed and the American Navy defeated the British. There is a large monument on South Bass Island to honor Perry’s victory.