Spinney Clock Collection
History
In 1963, Ross Spinney and his wife, Tex, purchased a home in Port Jefferson. The electrical contractor who was doing work in their new house gave them a clock as a gift…It was a short drop schoolhouse clock. This began a 30-year journey of clock collecting. They attended auctions and antique shops in quest of adding more clocks to their collection. Ross’ passion was for grandfather clocks and he ultimately amassed about 175 of them. Through the years, their collection grew to 910 clocks, which were all displayed in their home. Ross had always hoped that their private collection would become a museum in Port Jefferson. After his death, the Historical Society was able to make his dream come true. Thanks to the generous donation of an anonymous friend of the Society, the clock Building was constructed to house over 200 of the clocks from the Spinney collection. The architect incorporated architectural details from the area’s 19th century homes to design a building that looks as if it had always been there. Forty years after the gift of the first clock, the Spinney Clock Collection has become a gift to the whole community!
The Spinney Clock Collection
The showpiece of the Spinney collection is a 9-foot heavily carved tallcase clock. The clock dial is signed “Tiffany and Company, New York” which was the jewelry store that the clock was retailed through, not the manufacturer. The movement was made by Elliot in London, England and has a patent date of 1887. The clock strikes every quarter hour on a set of nine tubular bells. The movement can be switched to play Westminster or Whittington chimes. The upper portion of the dial contains a painted moon face, which moves across the arch during the 29 ½ day lunar cycle.
In the center of the west wall is a massive rolling bar with a clock insert bracketed by two figures. This piece came from the Vanderbilt Estate in Oakdale on the south shore of Long Island. During parties it was rolled out and used as a serving bar. The top is faux painted to represent marble. The decorative elements are gesso.
North Room: has 34 American, English, Scottish, French and German Grandfather Clocks.
East Room: has 55 wall clocks including an E. Howard and Co. banjo clock, an original Baird advertising clock and several Vienna Regulator clocks.
West Room: features a collection of 100 shelf clocks (many of them porcelain), car clocks, pocket watches and two French Morbier clocks.
South Room: known as the “Variety Room” – has grandfather, grandmother, wall and shelf clocks. The earliest clock in the collection is a Dutch grandmother clock (circa 1640).
