Baxter Clock

The Baxter Clock is a four-sided turret clock standing in New Bern, North Carolina. Its brass and steel mechanism is housed within a spherical cast iron case that rises in three distinct architectural tiers.

The Seth Thomas Clock Company manufactured this timepiece in 1920 and it was installed in 1930 opposite Baxter's Jewelry Store. Later, a furniture truck collision caused damage, but restoration work in the 1990s returned it to working order.

The clock occupies a central location and reflects how essential public timekeeping once was to daily community life. People relied on it to coordinate their schedules before personal timepieces became common.

This clock stands at a public location in downtown New Bern where it is easily accessible to visitors. The best time to view it is during daylight hours when the sun illuminates the dials clearly and reveals the details of the cast iron case.

Only three operational street clocks of this particular design remain active anywhere in the United States today. This rarity makes it a precious survivor from an era when such timekeeping devices anchored public life across the country.