American Clock & Watch Museum

The American Clock & Watch Museum (ACWM) is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and timekeepers. Located in the heart of the historic center of American clockmaking, ACWM is the world's preeminent horological museum in the area of American clocks, primarily industrial-made clocks of the 19th and early 20th century.

The exhibits include clocks (and some watches) from all periods and countries, but the focus of the exhibits is clearly on American clocks. A substantial part of the exhibit space is devoted to tell the story of Eli Terry and his successors and imitators. Terry pioneered mass manufacturing techniques in the early 19th century by replacing the traditional system of making one clock at a time with handmade parts each adjusted to fit with each other, to using a system of machine-made interchangeable parts, with close enough tolerances that they could be assembled without further adjustment.