Exhibition runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 19, 2021, at the Madison County Historical Society
For the 2021 Holiday Season, the Madison County Historical Society is offering an unprecedented exhibit of over 20 rare early-American shelf clocks made in Madison County between 1830-1842, entitled “A Madison County Holiday Travel Through Time.” The clockmakers presented will include William Dexter, Horace Dexter and Carter & Weller of Stockbridge, and L.&J. Frisbie of Chittenango.
The antique clock is a romantic legacy of seemingly simpler days and years gone by. Glancing at the face of an old clock one sees not only the reflection of people, places, and events long forgotten but also a product of incomparable construction and craftsmanship. Some of the hands and skills that fashioned early American clocks came from Madison County. The private collection of wooden cased shelf clocks on view are owned by G. Russell Oechsle who is a long-time researcher and collector of upstate New York clocks and clockmakers. His first articles on Madison County clocks appeared in the early 1980s in the Madison County Heritage. Russ was the co-author of the 2003 National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors (NAWCC) book “An Empire in Time – Clocks and Clock Makers of Upstate New York,” and has written articles for and made numerous presentations to local and national interest groups and historical societies. He is a Star Fellow of the NAWCC and is a past Board Member of the Madison County Historical Society and the American Watch & Clock Museum at Bristol, CT. He resides in Homer, NY with his wife Janet and daughter Jeni.
Viewing of, “A Madison County Holiday Travel Through Time” will be available by reservation from November 1st through December 17th, Monday through Friday, during the Madison County Historical Society’s business hours from 10 am- 3 pm. The tours are free for Historical Society’s members and $5 for nonmembers. Children 12 and under are free. Guided tours presented by exhibit curator Russ Oechsle will be available on Sunday, November 21st and 28th, and Sunday, December 12th and 19th, each at 1:00 pm, again by appointment. Space is limited. The tours are $10 for MCHS members and $15 for nonmembers. Children 12 and under are free.
For information on the exhibit and to make an appointment to visit, please contact the Madison County Historical Society at 315-363-4136, or history@mchs1900.org.The Madison County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that operates both a museum and the Mary King Research Library located at 435 Main Street in Oneida. The society continues to preserve, collect, promote, and exhibit the history of Madison County and its fifteen towns and one city through the development of programs that enhance Madison County’s heritage. The historical society’s headquarters are housed in an 1849 Gothic Revival Villa that is listed on the State and National Registry of Historic Places.
Caption: A Madison County Holiday Travel Through Time Exhibition November 1, 2021- December 19, 2021, at the Madison County Historical Society. This excellent “triple-decker” case with original reverse-painted center and lower tablets and 30-hr. wood works movement is testament to the case-making skills of Carter & Weller.