Westclox Factory Located in Illinois Burns! (Jan. 07, 2012)

Westclox Factory Ablaze.

The historic Wesclox Factory located in Peru, Illinois has burned to the ground. According to the article below, the companies history dates to the 19th century and at its height had 4000 employees. Wesclox made alarm clocks, watches and even military components. The company was known to be one of the first to offer accommodating work conditions to their employees. Unfortunately, like many American watchmaking factories the cost of low quality, low cost goods drove them under.

January 07, 2012 By John Keilman, Tribune Reporter

PERU, Ill.

Shannon Talley turned in early on New Year's Eve, but just before midnight she was jolted from her bed by the wail of sirens. Looking across the street, she saw a wall of flame: Westclox was on fire.
Once the pride of this Illinois River town, the massive former clock and watch factory had stood mostly empty for 31 years, a brick and steel Goliath that stretched several city blocks.
Authorities say two boys, ages 15 and 17, broke into the complex, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and set a fire that burned for five days. Plumes of toxic smoke spread into surrounding neighborhoods and caused evacuations and school shutdowns.
The fire appeared well under control Friday, with only small gray puffs escaping from two blocks of charred remains. Much of the Westclox complex, including the ornate front entrance, remained intact, something Peru Fire Chief Jeff King credited to a firefighting plan crafted well in advance of the blaze.
"I can't tell you how many times the building inspector and I have been through here," he said. "We have trained and trained" for this possibility.
But calculations of the damage have only begun, and no one is yet sure of the health and environmental damage wreaked by the fire. Smoke likely infused with carcinogens drifted over the town for days, and state environmental officials expect to find plenty of asbestos among the ashes.
Still, there were no life-threatening injuries, and no homes or nearby businesses were caught in the inferno.
Anger, though, is still smoldering.
"People are really enraged about it," said Talley, 40, who spent much of New Year's Day convinced she was going to lose her house. "To burn down a building that's been there for over 100 years, it's just sad."
The company's history goes back to the late 19th century, according to the LaSalle County Historical Society and Museum. Local businessman Frederick Matthiessen bought out a small, struggling alarm clock manufacturer and formed the Western Clock Co. — soon known as Westclox.
Through technical innovation and shrewd product development — the company's wares ranged from an alarm clock dubbed Big Ben to wristwatches to military fuses — Westclox became a thriving enterprise, employing 4,000 workers at its peak in 1956.
Local historian John Piano said Westclox created a paternal culture, offering humane working conditions and contributing millions of dollars to the area.
"It was a family company based on old-world principles," he said.
But the influx of cheap watches from overseas, a corporate takeover and labor trouble conspired to shut down the factory in 1980. More than 900 people lost their jobs, the historical society said.
Since then, the roughly 800,000-square-foot complex has been mostly vacant. A few businesses took space in a small part of the factory, and a plastic recycling company stored its goods in a large warehouse.


 (Above From Chicago Tribume.)

-JKS