The Elgin National Watch Company, commonly known as Elgin Watch Company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 to 1968. The company sold watches under the names Elgin, Lord Elgin, and Lady Elgin. For nearly 100 years, the company's manufacturing complex in Elgin, Illinois, was the world's largest site dedicated to

watchmaking A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

History

The company was first incorporated in August 1864 as the National Watch Company in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, by

Philo Carpenter Philo Carpenter (February 27, 1805 – August 7, 1886) was Chicago, Illinois' first pharmacist, and an outspoken abolitionist. Biography Born in Savoy, Massachusetts, February 27, 1805, young Philo learned medicine and the pharmaceutical trade ...

, Howard Z. Culver, Benjamin W. Raymond,

George M. Wheeler George Montague Wheeler (October 9, 1842 – May 3, 1905) was an American pioneering explorer and cartographer, leader of the Wheeler Survey, one of the major surveys of the western United States in the late nineteenth century. Wheeler was bo ...

, Thomas S. Dickerson and W. Robbins. In September of the same year, the founders visited the

Waltham Watch Company The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the Un ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

and successfully convinced seven of Waltham's

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

s to come to work for their new company. The growing young city of

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

, some 30 miles northwest of Chicago, was chosen as the factory site. Initially, as part of the deal, the city was asked to donate 35 acres (142,000 m²) of land for the construction of the factory. The city selected a derelict farm; however, the owners refused to sell the property unless the city purchased their entire 71 acres for $3,550. Four Elgin businessmen agreed to acquire the property and then donated the required 35 acres to the watch company. The company reorganized in April 1865 and completed the factory in 1866. The first movement, delivered in 1867, was named the B.W. Raymond in honor of Benjamin W. Raymond. The watch was an 18-size, full plate design. In 1869, the National Watch Company won "Best Watches, Illinois Manufacture" at the 17th Annual Illinois State Fair, for which it won a silver medal. The company officially changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company in 1874, as the Elgin name had come into common usage for their watches.

Later history

The company built the

Elgin National Watch Company Observatory The Elgin National Watch Company Observatory is a historic building in Elgin, in the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in 1910 to serve the Elgin National Watch Company two blocks to the west. The two-story observatory provided data on time tha ...

in 1910 to maintain scientifically precise times in their watches. The company produced many of the self-winding wristwatch movements made in the United States, beginning with the 607 and 618 calibers (which were bumper wind) and the calibers 760 and 761 (30 and 27

jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

respectively). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the company halted all civilian manufacturing. It moved into the defense industry, manufacturing military watches,

chronometer A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...

s, fuzes for artillery shells,

altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...

s, and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons. Over time, the company operated several additional plants, mostly in Elgin. However, the company also located additional plants in Aurora, Illinois and

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. In 1963, the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a new plant in Blaney, a town near

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

, which renamed itself Elgin, South Carolina. The original, obsolete factory in Elgin closed in 1964 after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States ( dollar-type not included). The plant was razed in 1966. The company maintained a leased building in Elgin that housed offices and casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments until about 1970. The company discontinued all US manufacturing in 1968 and sold the rights to the name "Elgin", which were subsequently resold multiple times over the years. The rights eventually were purchased by MZ Berger Inc., which manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company. The city of

Elgin, North Dakota Elgin is a city in Grant County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 543 at the 2020 census. History Elgin was platted in 1910 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was originally known as Shanley, but when the Nort ...

, derives its name from the watch brand. Likewise, NBA Hall of Famer

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

was named after the Elgin National Watch Company.Elgin Baylor bio at NBA website
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Gallery

File:Elgin_watch_front_closed.jpg, Front of an Elgin pocket watch from 1911 in a hunter-style closed case with the stem located at the 3 o'clock position. File:Elgin_watch_front_partial.JPG, Pocket watch with opened cover plate. File:Elgin_watch_back_opened.jpg, Movement of the same pocket watch. File:1919 Elgin National Watch Company USA.jpg, Movement of an Elgin pocket watch. cir.1919 S/N 21,667,498

References

Sources

*''Complete Watch Guide'', by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, 1998 ed.,

External links