A 170-year-old clock in the Benicia Capitol building stopped ticking over the summer but has recently been fixed. The clock was made in France for Sperry & Co. in San Francisco and has been in the Capitol’s main chamber for a long time. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

By Jon Van Landschoot
Special to the Herald

In the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park on First and G streets, there resides a 170-year-old clock made in France. The clock was sent to “Gold Rush” California via ship around the Horn of South America. The French clock maker delivered the 1847 clock to Sperry & Co. in San Francisco in 1855. For years, it tocked away in a hotel in Placerville.
It is unclear how the clock got into the Benicia Capitol. The “works” inside the clock are from the 1700s , as it was common to reuse “works” as they were so well-made.
This clock has been clicking right along all this time– that is, until this past summer. For some reason, maybe age, or dust, the ancient timepiece stopped.
Enter Joe Steffen, of Steffen’s Antiques (who tends the four ancient clocks in the Capitol and the Fischer–Hanlon House) , his friends Chris Mamere (a clock repair man) and Will Beasley ( Capitol docent ).
These three worked on the aged timepiece for quite awhile. The clock would work for a few days and then have a temper tantrum and stop! We were all going crazy trying to guess the problem.
Finally, on Thursday Feb. 2, they got the clock ticking, and after a brief hiccup, it has been chugging along like it was new. Not bad for a 170-year-old timepiece!
If you have a hankering to see this marvelous piece of history, stop by the Capitol, purchase a ticket and learn more about our historic town.

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