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The Elgin Watch Company
(National Watch Company) was founded in 1864 .
Some of the organizers came from Waltham Watch Company, including P.S.
Bartlett, D.G. Currier, Otis Hoyt, Charles H. Mason and others. The idea
of beginning a large watch company for the mid-West was discussed by J.C.
Adams, Bartlett and Blake. After a trip to Waltham, Massachusetts, Adams
went back to Chicago and approached Benjamin W. Raymond, a former mayor of
Chicago, to put up the necessary capital to get the company started. Adams
and Raymond succeeded in getting others to pledge their financial support
also.
The National Watch Co, better known as the Elgin Watch Company, was formed
in August 1864. The factory site was in Elgin, Illinois, where the city
had donated 35 acres of land. The factory was completed in 1866 and the
first movement was a B.W. Raymond, 18 size, full plate design. The company
closed in 1964, after having produced half of the total number of pocket
watches manufactured in U.S.A. (dollar-type not included).
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