Historical Musings: The tale of 2 historic Milton clocks

May 22, 2023

This unique Sydney advertising clock came to the Milton Post office in 1893 and is now displayed in the hotel lobby of the Milton House Museum. The clock features an array of historical community names including those of A. B. Lee, Thomas Irwin Place, T. A. Saunders and Calvin Hull.

MILTON — The unique Sydney advertising clock that hung for years in the Milton post office is one of the most popular artifacts in the hotel lobby of the Milton House Museum. Manufactured by the Sydney Clock Company in New York, this style clock was a popular fixture in rail depots, post offices and hotels from the 1880s into the early 1900s.

The clock’s unique features includes three lower panels, each displaying advertisements. Every five minutes the panels rotate to show a different set of ads. Two of these unique clocks came to Milton and Milton Junction in 1893. Sales representatives from the Sydney company in New York would comb midwestern communities, selling advertisement panels for the clocks. When enough advertising was secured, the clocks were put together with the unique, hand-made advertising panels.

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