Congratulations to the Millbrook Society and the Borough of Hatboro on the restoration of the 1811 Isaiah Lukens Clock in Loller Academy! The event was commemmorated on New Year’s Eve 2015 as the final event of Hatboro’s Tricentennial with a clock rededication ceremony and professional fireworks.
The
The restoration was led by Keith Winship of
The Millbrook Society has documented the restoration with a limited edition book Saving and Restoring the Lukens Clock at Loller Academy.
Loller Academy
Loller Academy was built in 1811 with funds donated by the estate of
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The school was opened after Loller’s death, closed shortly after the Civil War, and again became a state school 60 years later.
In the 1950’s the building was condemned as unsafe and there was talk of tearing it down. Borough residents strongly objected and voted to restore the building. It is used today as a community center, town hall, and borough offices.
Isaiah Lukens Clock
The Loller Academy building has a clock in its tower that was made by
The Loller clock is over 200 years old and was badly in need of restoration. Keith Winship, of Hatboro antique clock restoration business
HPHA Donates to Loller Clock Restoration
HPHA and Pete and Margaret Choate teamed up to provide Hatboro’s
HPHA Executive Director Pete Choate and HPHA Founder and Board Member Margaret Choate met with Hatboro Borough Historian Dave Shannon on Wednesday evening, August 1, 2012, to present him with a $500 personal donation and an additional $500 donation from HPHA towards the 1st Phase of the Loller Academy Clock Restoration. This will provide the restoration group enough funds to match a $5,000 PMHC grant.
“The Millbrook Society of Hatboro and HPHA have worked together on different projects over the years and we just thought that the Loller clock was an important part of local history that needed to be restored. Our board agreed, so we decided to help” said Margaret Choate. Pete Choate added “Even though the clock is located in Hatboro, it was made in Horsham so we feel it has a shared heritage and we’d love to see it running again”.
The borough applied for a grant through the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission to evaluate the clock and develop a restoration plan.
“This clock is arguably one of the most valuable artifacts not only here in Hatboro, but also the Commonwealth,” borough historian Dave Shannon wrote in the grant application as quoted by the
PMHC approved a grant of $5,000 with a matching requirement of an additional $5,000. According to Millbrook Society President Lynn Magaha, the $1,000 combined donation made by the Choates and HPHA gave them the funds they needed to match the grant and get started on the evaluation phase of the restoration.