On July 29, 1878, the town clock and bells were installed in the tower of the First Congregational Church. James Thomson donated the clock to the Village of Almont.
Sometime in 1878, James Thomson (the man who suggested the name “Almont” for the township and village) donated a very fine clock to the Village of Almont. However, the village leaders did not want to spend the money needed to erect a tower to hold the clock. Instead, it was decided to install the clock in the newly constructed (1875) belfry of the First Congregational Church, which is located at the northeast corner of East St. Clair Street and Bristol Street.
The clock and bells were installed in the church’s belfry on July 29, 1878.
The clock was modernized in 1964. The Almont Garden Club coordinated the fund raising of $2,000 to have the clock electrified. The gears and shafting were replaced. The clock hands were replaced. The bell striker was also replaced and repositioned. The repositioning of the striker produced new tones from the old bronze bell.
In 2017, the First Congregational Church began a fund raising campaign to do repairs on the church’s belfry and to repair or replace the clock mechanism. The fund raising campaign was labeled “Save the Clock Tower”, which was taken from one of the “Back to the Future” movies.
