Category
Museums & Collections
Friends of Boothe Park
To Preserve & Restore
The 1913 Anniversary Tower built on the old hay barn to mark 250 years of Boothe family history in north Stratford.
Category
Museums & Collections
Built
1913
Commemorates
250 years in Stratford
Known For
Howard clock and chimes
Open To Visitors
Seasonal / During Tours
In 1913, the family celebrated the 250th anniversary of its presence in north Stratford by building an Anniversary Tower on top of the old hay barn. David designed it, and both brothers worked on its construction. Five massive cast iron bells were placed at the top and inscribed with Boothe and Nichols genealogy. The brothers searched New England for a clock and acquired an 1815 handmade cherry clock from an abandoned Massachusetts church in exchange for a Eureka carpet sweeper. When that clock would not run, they installed a large Howard clock that remains in use today, with Westminster chimes and a pendulum extending nine feet into a pit below.
Preserving museum spaces like the Clocktower Museum protects the objects, mechanisms, and stories that make Boothe Park distinctive. The Friends of Boothe Park work with volunteers, members, and donors to care for the collections, buildings, gardens, and grounds.