CHIME TIME AT HISTORIC COURTHOUSE
It's Been A Long Time Since Time Rang the Chimes, Now It's Time for Hourly Chime Time
It’s been a long time since time rang the chimes of the Seth Thomas clock within the cupola perched above Edenton’s Historic Courthouse on King St. The on the hour symphony echoed through the green when the wind was right. However, four years ago time stopped, people took note they no longer heard them. On September 18, 2025 at precisely at 4;45 p.m. people will gather the chimes will ring again.
History will be made and heard throughout town 15 minutes after the ceremony begins.
Two hundred years ago, in September 1825, the first clock was installed in the cupola of the historic Chowan County Courthouse which was built in 1767on East King Street and is listed as a National History Landmark.
Popular as early as the 13th century, European town clocks were elaborate and many of the early clocks where heard but not seen. The clocks did not have faces but they chimed on the hour. The evolution of clockmakers adding exterior faces allowed the community an opportunity to view as well as hear the time, evolved around 1410 in Europe. Originallythe hands of the clock were fixed and the faces of the clock rotated. By 1490 tower clocks evolved and became much more decorative. The faces were still and the arms had movement.
Today, the clock which sits in the cupola above the Historic Chowan County Courthouse, was installed in 1891. The clock and bell went inoperable in 2021.
“Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970, the courthouse is the oldest operating government building in North Carolina and considered to be the most intact colonial courthouse in America,” said Historic Edenton State Historic Site Manager Laura Rogers. “We set course earlier this year to restore the clock.”
Finding the right person to work on this historic gem took some searching. Pam Wagner, President of Friends of State Historic Sites, recalled Joe D’Apuzzo, a member of St. Ann’s Catholic Church century-old church, repaired the bell in 2023. The retired elevator contractor took up the challenge to fix the Historic Chowan Courthouse clock. It took many weeks of climbing the narrow steps leading to the dusty bell-towerthrough the hot days of summer.
But that’s time gone by, on September 18, join Friends of State Historical Sites and town residents and officials as the clock chimes proudly once again.
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