The E. Ingraham Company was one of the premier American

clock A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...

and

watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

manufacturers during the 19th and 20th centuries. Headquartered in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

, the firm was founded in 1831 by Elias Ingraham and controlled by members of the Ingraham family until 1956.

History

Elias Ingraham (1805–1885) opened his own shop in Bristol in 1831 as a cabinetmaker and designer of clock cases. While on a voyage to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela in the 1840s, Elias designed the four-column Sharp Gothic steeple clock, which was widely copied by other clock makers and sold so extensively around the world that it is believed to have been the best-seller of any distinctively American design for clocks. Elias died at his summer home on

Martha’s Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

in August 1885. By this time, the E. Ingraham Company operated five factories and employed more than 500 people who manufactured 250,000 clocks annually. Edward Ingraham I, the only child of Elias and his wife Julia Hale Sparks, succeeded his father as president of the E. Ingraham Company from 1885 to 1892. He was a pioneer in the American clock industry and conceived the idea of the black enameled wood cases which for years were the standard finish for high grade mantle clocks. When Edward died in 1892, his three sons assumed management of the firm: Walter A. Ingraham as president; Irving E. Ingraham as vice-president; and William S. Ingraham as secretary and treasurer. By this time, the company was engaged exclusively in the manufacture of eight-day wooden case pendulum clocks and nickel alarm clocks. In 1913 the company began producing wrist watches, followed by eight day alarm clocks in 1915. Following Walter's retirement in 1927, management continued with William's sons Edward Ingraham II (president from 1927-1954) and Dudley Ingraham (president from 1954-1956). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company temporarily ceased manufacturing clocks and began producing mechanical time-fuse parts and anti-aircraft artillery for the U.S. military. For their excellence in war production, the E. Ingraham Company received the

Army-Navy "E" Award The Army-Navy "E" Award was an honor presented to companies and organizations during World War II whose production facilities achieved "Excellence in Production" ("E") of war equipment. The award was also known as the Army-Navy Production Award. ...

References

{{Authority control Watch manufacturing companies of the United States 1831 establishments in Connecticut Clock manufacturing companies of the United States 1967 disestablishments in Connecticut