VCSU’s Historic Clocktower Updated

(Valley City, ND) The historic clocktower on McFarland Hall at Valley City State University (VCSU) was updated this week with new clock faces and updated timekeeping machinery.
“The clocktower is our most iconic feature on campus. The updates will ensure it continues to be a beautiful focal point for years to come,” President Alan LaFave said. The project was completed by PCL Construction Services, Inc. with direction from VCSU Facilities Services. The work included the removal of the old clock faces and the installation of new acrylic faces, hour hand, minute hand, and new equipment for keeping time.
The original clock was installed in 1911, 19 years after McFarland Hall was built. The clock was made by E. Howard & Company out of Boston, Mass.
VCSU has had a bell tower since McFarland Hall was built in 1892, but it has not always had a clock at the top.
The original building, known as Old Main, cost $26,220 to complete and was designed by the Hancock Brothers, architects out of Fargo. It was built by J.C. Drake from Valley City. The first day of instruction in Old Main, as it was known, was Dec. 7, 1892. It was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style according to the National Register of Historic Places nomination submitted in 1995. The building was placed on the Register on Feb. 10, 1995.
Three years after Old Main was finished, the governor of North Dakota vetoed almost 80% of the school’s budget. The citizens of Valley City, school board members and faculty raised and donated almost twice the amount of money appropriated by the state to keep the school running smoothly.

There was still no funding for a clock at the top of the bell tower until the class of 1910 presented the school with an iconic gift. The class purchased three clock faces and timekeeping equipment and presented the gift to President George McFarland. The Valley City Times Record reported the arrival of the “massive timepiece” in the Jan. 3, 1911 edition. It was installed on Jan. 9, 1911. The building was later renamed in McFarland’s honor.
The original clock operated like a large grandfather clock, according to Becky Heise, a researcher with the Barnes County Historical Society. The clock included a pendulum and specific instructions attached to the mechanisms. According to the operating instructions, it needed to be wound once a week. The speed of the clock was regulated by a nut at the top of the pendulum and the bearings needed to be oiled once every three months “at least.”
“It was pretty high maintenance,” Heise said. Heise said she thought it was sad to see the old clock faces go, but keeping the old equipment in place is a neat connection.


