Iconic Sylvan’s clock is officially named a historic landmark in Columbia

Jun 04, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Columbia City Council recently designated the Seth Thomas Street Clock outside Sylvan’s Jewelers an official historic landmark.

To get a better idea of the clock and its story, we spoke with a man who has spent the better part of his life maintaining the historic timepiece.

Each Friday at the corner of Hampton and Main in Columbia, just outside Sylvan’s Jewelers, Tim Sease, of Sease Clock Repair in Gilbert, strides over to the large Seth Thomas four-faced clock, and opens a panel at the base.

He pulls out a lever that attaches to a handle. He then places the handle it on the face of the gears - and spins them back furiously, for approximately 20 seconds. Just like that, the clock is set for another week.

It’s a ritual that Sease has performed for over 50 years.

The Sylvan Brothers purchased this towering timepiece from the European division of the Seth Thomas Company the year after the brothers opened up their renowned jewelry shop on the corner of Hampton and Main in 1905.

Nearly 120 years later, both the store and the clock are still ticking.

“That’s my baby there,” said Sease, gazing up and admiring the clock moments after he wound it up for the week.

“The quality of this thing is unbelievable.”

The clock’s design is simple and efficient.

“It’s just manually cranked up once a week. That weight just slowly comes down as the week progresses and I crank it back up.”

The simple, yet ornate clock outlasts more sophisticated electronics, by a long shot.

Its golden painted top features cast lions, with rings in their mouths, painted Roman numerals behind glass on each of the four sides, and a banner above that reads, “Sylvan Bros.”

“You couldn’t find anything like this if you wanted to nowadays,” Sease boasted.

“There’s no way.”

“That’s the sweetness of the thing,” he continued. “All the new technological stuff they got, and this old boy just keeps going.”

Sease just keeps going as well. He was hired at Sylvan’s to fix watches in the late 60’s. Years later, he started his own clock repair business. Nowadays, he fixes clocks of all kinds.

“I do mantle clocks, wall clocks and grandfathers,” he said before adding: “And I keep up with grandad here,” he said motioning to the clock.

The weekly wind up of the clock on Main Street and Hampton is a true labor of love.

“It’s like the old saying if you got a job that you love to do you never work a day in your life. That’s true,” Sease said.

Columbia is actually home to two Seth Thomas clocks: the Street clock at Hampton and Main- and another at Main and Washington, which Sease also services.

The clock outside Sylvan’s is a landmark those in Columbia have used to give directions.

“Everybody knows where this clock is,” Sease said.

Its longevity and presence for nearly 120 years are the main reasons it was named a historical landmark.

For Sease, the clock means even more.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t do it.

It’s just become so much a part of me.”

“It’s got quite a life in it. and got quite a life left in it.”

Giving life to the city, and the people passing by, pausing to appreciate the clock.

During our interview two women approached Sease.

“I love it!” exclaimed one of the women, drawing a laugh from Sease.

He explained to them how the clock has stood here for well over a century, to which she replied,

“When I saw you opening the door- I had to ask her, ‘Is he working on the clock?’ And that’s what you were doing! It’s just amazing. So keep up the good job. You’re doing a good job!”

Sease appreciated the compliment.

The beautiful irony, you could argue- is the clock that has marked the time at this corner for well over a century; and the man who has kept it running for nearly half that time - are each, truly… timeless.

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