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Clock returns to courthouse
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A Seth Thomas clock recently donated to Johnson County will soon be hung in the museum on the first floor of the Johnson County Courthouse. The clock hung in the courthouse until sometime in the 1950s, when it was sold along with other furniture and fixtures. It hung in the Cleburne optometry office and home of Dr. W.R. Jones until he passed away. After his death, Jones’ nieces decided to return the clock to the courthouse, which recently underwent major renovations. Matt Smith/Times-Review
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More than half a century after its purchase in a sale, a Seth Thomas clock has returned to the Johnson County Courthouse.
The clock, appraised at $2,500, occupied the courthouse until sometime in the 1950s.
After that it hung in an optometrist’s office near the downtown square and then in the Cleburne home of Dr. W.R. Jones until his death.
“Some time in the 1950s they hauled it and a lot of other stuff, roll top desks and furniture out on the courthouse lawn and had a sale,” said Sandy Sims, administrative assistant to County Judge Roger Harmon. “I guess they purchased new furniture, or decided to sell off extra furniture.”
Dr. H.C. Quinn purchased the clock at the sale, said Peggy Densman, Jones’ niece.
“My uncle moved to Cleburne in 1949, and Dr. Quinn took him on,” Densman said. “Later my uncle purchased optometry equipment and the clock about 1956.”
Jones hung the clock in the office of his practice on Henderson Street and did the same when he later moved up the same street, Densman said.
Severe storms in the early ’90s damaged Jones’ building, prompting a move to Chambers Street, but he took the clock home, Densman said.
Densman, an Abilene resident, said she and her two sisters decided the clock should be returned to the courthouse after her uncle’s death.
“We thought it needed to go back to that beautiful, restored courthouse, which they did such a wonderful job on,” Densman said. “It’s part of Johnson County’s history, and it needs to be keeping time in that building.”
Officials plan to have the clock cleaned and repaired and hung in the museum on the first floor of the Johnson County Courthouse, Sims said.
The museum, presently under construction, focuses on courthouse and Johnson County history.
“We’re not sure when it was first put in the courthouse, or how old it is,” Sims said. “I’m hoping that when someone looks at it to clean it up they can maybe determine its age. And, I’ve looked into it, but I’ve not been able to figure out where it was hung when it was in the courthouse originally.”
Harmon said the county is very fortunate to get the clock back.
“A lot of people over the years have accumulated these items, and since we renovated the courthouse, we’ve wanted to get word out to the public that if anyone has objects from the courthouse, or about the county, that we’d like to re-secure those items if possible to display in that museum for the general public.
“We’ve got display glass cabinets, and the commissioners court this year approved hiring a part-time curator for the museum who’s going to work with the volunteers to get everything organized so we can have a museum that’s really going to show off the history of the county, which is why we’re always thankful for donations from citizens.”
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