Eastman Clock Restoration Project

Artistic and Historical Significance

The Eastman monument was built in 1924 however was not officially dedicated until June 17, 1925, providing an outdoor art installation, combined with a testimonial to New Hampshire history along with the practicality of four-sided public clock. At the time, the location of the monument clock tower, at the intersection of Portsmouth Street and Eastman Street, was central to the transportation corridors into Concord, from the seacoast and northern New Hampshire. All traffic into and out of Concord in those directions would have processed by the Eastman monument and set their time by the tower clocks. The Clock Tower is located in a small public park (.42 acres) in East Concord maintained by the City of Concord’s Parks and Recreation Department.  

Originally funded by the Eastman Family Memorial Association, the monument is now owned by the City of Concord and sits within a small municipal pocket park. The monument was intended to honor Ebenezer Eastman, one of the original European settlers to the area.  

Ebenezer Eastman (February 17, 1681 - July 28, 1748)  On March 4, 1710, Ebenezer Eastman married his first cousin, Sarah Peasley of Haverhill. Sarah and Ebenezer shared a maternal grandfather, Thomas Barnard, who was one of the original settlers of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Ebenezer's will was dated March 7, 1744, four years before his death. His wife, Sarah, was bequeathed his possessions including his house and land in Concord.

Ebenezer and Sarah had nine children together over the course of 20 years: Ebenezer, Jr., Philip, Joseph, Nathaniel, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Sarah, Jr., Ruth, and Moses. Eight of the nine survived to adulthood, with four of them living past the age of 80.  The family settled in Concord in 1726. Joseph served as selectman for Concord alongside his father in 1732.  Their daughter Sarah  died in 1737. In 1745, Ebenezer, Jr. enlisted in John Goffe's company of thirty-seven scouts. Philip was remembered as "one of the most useful citizens of his generation." Three of Ebenezer's sons: Joseph, Nathaniel, and Moses, fought in the American Revolutionary War. More information on the family can be found here. Version Options Eastman Clock Restoration Project Headline

Ebenezer Eastman has multiple notable direct descendants. Ebenezer’s fourth great grandson, Charles Alexander Eastman, of the Dakota people, was one of the first Native Americans to be certified as a European-style doctor, a co-founder of the Boy Scouts, and a historian.

The small park also contains a State Historical Highway Marker noting the site to be the terminus of the original New Hampshire Turnpike. Another historical marker within the park also notes the location as the site of the original Merrimack River crossings (Eastman Ferry 1727, Tucker Ferry 1785, Federal Bridge 1799).  And finally, nearby is a small marker noting the location of the Rumford garrison house, established for the protection of the earliest colonial settlers.  The Eastman monument truly provides both traditional public art with historical commemoration, while occupying a space of particular importance in the history of New Hampshire.

The granite for the Eastman monument was quarried locally at the Granite State Quarry, operating at Concord’s Rattlesnake Hill quarries. The monument was sculpted by the New England Granite Works in Westerly, Rhode Island.

The known history of the monument since its dedication, besides being inundated in the 1938 flood, includes a repair and replacement of the original Seth Thomas clock works in the 1970s. At that time, the original clock faces, and hands were also refabricated and replaced.  Along with the internal clocks and lights not working, the outdoor elements have taken a toll on the sculpture and it needs to be cleaned.

About the Project

In early 2024, the City received an $18,000 grant from the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, Arts Conservation Grant Program to restore the 4 clocks and to help with cleaning the monument. The City of Concord will also handle any related tree work and extra cleaning that may be required.

In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the monument’s 1925 dedication, The City of Concord, in cooperation with current and former residents of East Concord, will have the monument's clocks restored to working order in time for a rededication event on Monday, Oct 27 at 5 pm at the site. In addition to restoration of the clocks, the project will include cleaning of the monument faces, the formalization of the short trail bisecting the park, and some maintenance to park landscaping.  The funding through the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, Arts Conservation Grant Program will be entirely directed at restoration efforts on the Eastman Monument as an outdoor public art installation, restoring the clock component. The other components of the project (pathway, tree maintenance, landscaping) will not funded with Arts Conservation Grant Program funds, and will be undertaken by volunteers and the City of Concord Parks and Recreation Department.