Fredericktown in Knox County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Webb C. Ball Street Clock

1847–1922

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 4, 2019

1. Webb C. Ball Street Clock Marker

Inscription. Webb C. Ball was a native of the Fredericktown area before opening his jewelry store in Cleveland, Ohio. After a tragic railroad accident in Kipton, Ohio, in 1891, Ball was contracted by the railroad to standardize the time of 125,000 miles of railway in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Webb was also to provide a dependable timepiece that station managers and conductors could use to ensure proper time. This clock you now see was Webb’s design and cast in 1896, weighs 2,500 pounds and is 16 feet tall. The clock sat outside Ball Jewelry store from 1886 to 2007 when the clock was donated to the Fredericktown Area Historical Society and moved to Ball’s home town.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.

Location. 40° 28.873′ N, 82° 32.58′ W. Marker is in Fredericktown, Ohio, in Knox County. Marker is at the intersection of North Main Street (Ohio Route 95) and East Sandusky Street, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street. It is at the Village of Fredericktown Clerk’s office. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2 E Sandusky St, Fredericktown OH 43019, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Home of the FFA Jacket (approx. 0.7 miles away); Greenville Treaty Line

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(approx. 3.6 miles away); a different marker also named Greenville Treaty Line (approx. 4.2 miles away); Test (approx. 6 miles away); Mt. Vernon (approx. 6.1 miles away); Vallandigham's Speech, 1863 (approx. 6.8 miles away); Civil War Soldiers Monument (approx. 6.8 miles away); Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke (approx. 6.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fredericktown.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This is the marker for the Kipton train wreck.

Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia entry for Webster Clay Ball. “In 1891 there was a collision between Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway trains at Kipton, Ohio, which occurred because an engineer's watch had stopped. The railroad officials commissioned Webb C. Ball as their Chief Time Inspector, in order to establish precision standards and a reliable timepiece inspection system for railroad chronometers.

“He established strict guidelines for the manufacturing of sturdy, reliable precision timepieces, including resistance to magnetism, reliability of time keeping in 5 positions, isochronism, power reserve and dial

Webb C. Ball Street Clock and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 4, 2019

2. Webb C. Ball Street Clock and Marker

arrangement, accompanied with record keeping of the reliability of the watch on each regular inspection.” (Submitted on April 8, 2019.)

2. PBS Documentary “On the Ball: The Story of Webb C. Ball and the Railroad Watch”. Air Date October 23, 2014. (Submitted on April 8, 2019.)

Additional keywords. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway

Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2019. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 935 times since then and 477 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 8, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.