The Lukens Clock Factory

The following is taken from The History of Horsham by Craven.

Seneca Lukens had a shop near his home on Easton Road just north of Maple Avenue, where he made fine grandfather clocks. His son Isaiah, who had learned all about clocks at his father’s shop, became well known for his accurate timepieces after he started his own business in Philadelphia. He made the clock for Loller Academy in Hatboro, Pa. in 1812. In 1825 he received the sum of $50 for the clock for Germantown Academy. He is best known for his clock made for the new steeple of Independence Hall in 1828. In 1876 the clock was removed to the Town Hall in Germantown, and in 1924, it was incorporated in the new Municipal Building of Germantown. In 1907 an old resident of Horsham bought two of Isaiah Luken’s clocks for 10 cents apiece.

For years the chimney of the Clock Factory, as Seneca Luken’s shop was called, stood along Easton Road, long after the Lukens family closed the business. In the first decade of this century, the chimney was torn down and the stone hauled away to be used as building material.

Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson lived with Seneca Lukens in the last years of her life after moving from Graeme Park.

(added 2011) The clock above Hatboro Borough Hall (formerly Loller Academy) was installed by Isaiah Lukens in 1812 and in 2011 is still operating but is in need of restoration.