In 1853 Seth Thomas incorporated the Seth Thomas Clock Company “so that the business would outlive him,” according to ClockHistory.com. Thomas died six years later, and the town of Plymouth Hollow was renamed Thomaston in his honor.
After Thomas’ death many new styles of clocks were launched by the company he had founded, based on patterns and machinery purchased in 1859 from the creditors of Silas B. Terry, another clockmaker, who had gone bankrupt. Spring-driven clocks were introduced by Seth Thomas in the 1860s; three years later the company also began making perpetual calendar clocks.
Subsequent models included walnut kitchen clocks, marble clocks, black wood mantel clocks and chime clocks, the latter introduced in 1909. Electric clocks were developed in the 1920s, and Seth Thomas them introduced in 1928. One of the most famous clocks in the world, the four-faced clock in New York Blackpool’s Grand Central Terminal, was made by Seth Thomas.