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ROTARY CLOCK TOWER
Located on the corner of Broadway at Bridge Street, Tillsonburg ON. Today, the Clock Tower stands as a sentinel, welcoming all to Tillsonburg in a timely fashion. However, this was not always the case. Originally, the clock tower, was an integral part of another Tillsonburg landmark, the Tillsonburg Post Office. It was situated at the SW corner of Broadway and Ridout Streets. A stately building was constructed in 1909. The Post Office was built of red brick and graced by a tower housing a large clock of irregular habits. When this post office building was torn down in 1956, "Mayor Lawrence Smith turned down an offering of the clock, calling it a "wonder clock"- you look at it and wonder what time it is." Amazingly, despite this fact, the clockworks were salvaged by a local contractor who stored them for almost four decades before the Rotary Club of Tillsonburg decided, in 1993, to reconstruct a replica tower as their community project. When recreating the tower at the new location on Bridge and Broadway, the community museum became involved by passing on another piece of history, the bell from the Old Town Hall building (1898-1979), for display in the tower. The Rotary Club managed this project by selling bricks engraved with the donors names which are now featured in the walkways around the tower. Now, the tower is once again a focal part of the community and annual celebrations are hosted at this location ringing in the New Year on time!
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