15 Million Reasons To Make You Smile
WHCM to Receive $15 Million Gift to Expand its Collection and Build State-of-the-Art Facility
On April 27th, 2024, the museum officially announced a gift, in excess of $15 million from Trustee Charles N. Grichar - a collection of The finest Willard clocks and Howard astronomical regulators in existence, all of which will double the museum’s collection.
In addition, the collection will be housed in a new state-of-the-art facility that will substantially expand the museum’s footprint and offer a new compliment of horological support services.
to make this remarkable gift a reality, the museum must meet a capital campaign goal of $6 million.
Good news! we need your help to raise only $1.8 million by the end of 2028.
The museum is working with its Trustees, benefators and foundations to meet its financial committmen. Since last year we have raised $4.2 million in donations, pledges and land sales against our goal of $6 million by the end of 2028 - but we need your help. There are many ways to donate - from checks and credit card and donor advised fund gifts to stock transfers and IRA Qualified Charitable Deductions, your contribution has a direct and lasting impact on the museum.
Questions? Feel free to call us at 508-839-3500 or write us at info@willardhouse.org.
The willard family - THE CENTER OF EARLY AMERICAN CLOCKMAKING
Benjamin Willard began making clocks in his small, rural Massachusetts workshop in North Grafton, in 1766. His three younger brothers, Simon, Ephraim, and Aaron, quickly learned the trade and began a three-generation clockmaking legacy.
Today, over 90 Willard clocks are exhibited in the birthplace and original workshop of the Willard clockmakers, along with family portraits, furnishings, and other Willard family heirlooms. Works by all three generations of Willard clockmakers, including famed clockmakers Simon Willard Jr. and Benjamin Franklin Willard, are also displayed.
Take a step back in time and witness a unique and important part of America's technological, artistic, and entrepreneurial history with us.
Plan your visit
For information and directions, please look through our About pages. If you have any questions, please call the museum at 508.839.3500. We look forward to seeing you.
Featured Object
Seven Tune Eight-Day Musical Clock
Eight-day musical clock by Simon Willard (1757-1844), Roxbury, c. 1793
Made for Samuel Bass (1757-1842) of Roxbury, this eight-day clock measures an impressive 107” tall. The mahogany case has been attributed to Stephen Badlam (1751-1815), notable Dorchester cabinetmaker. The dial is signed by John Minott (1771-1826), the subject of our featured “featured book” below.
Early American clocks are a rarity due to how complex and time consuming they were to create. That translated to a much larger price point, anywhere from two to three times the price of a standard tall clock. They usually played six or seven tunes on average; this having seven: 149th Psalm (for Sundays), Buttered Peas (what it is currently set to), British Grenadiers, The Marquis of Granby, Lady Coventry’s Minuet, Nancy Dawson, and Bold Highland Laddie.
FEATURED BOOK
John Minott: Boston Ornamental and Clock Dial Painter
by Paul Foley
This fully illustrated volume with colored photographs by Paul Foley details the career and works of Willard collaborator John Minott through his successes and failures.
Minott was a pioneering painter of tall clock dials working primarily for the Roxbury/Boston, MA Willard clockmakers in the late 18th century. Dozens of his signed tall clock dials have been identified, documented, and are illustrated in this new work.
The author traces Minott’s relatively melancholy career that brought him great financial success followed by economic and personal failure at the time of the near collapse of the New England economy during the War of 181
WHCM is pleased to partner with the following organizations
The Dietrich American Foundation was established in 1963 by H. Richard Dietrich, Jr. (1938–2007) to collect, research and document historically important examples of American decorative and fine arts, primarily of the eighteenth century.
Founded in 1866, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world. Today, HSNY is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education.