Burt Elementary School

The Clock Tower at Austin Peay State University

pre-tornado

When the Browning Administration Building at Austin Peay State
University in Clarksville, Tennessee was built in 1950, a clock and carillon chimes were installed under a cupola. For almost 50 years, this clock was a landmark of the campus and the city. The cupola became one of the five downtown spires that made this historic city's skyline. Burt Elementary School, which is located adjacent to the Austin Peay State University campus, could hear the beautiful chimes when the windows were open and see the clock tower from the schoolyard.

Tragically, on January 22, 1999, an F-4 rated tornado ripped through Clarksville and the university campus. The cupola was ripped off the tower and the clock stopped, but none of its four faces or the speakers that broadcast the chimes, were destroyed. When the workmen checked the clock and the chimes, they found that they were still working.

after the tornado

inside the clock tower

A new cupola was built and on September 29, 1999, a crane lowered it back on top of the clock. At a ceremony for the clock, a time capsule was put in the cupola. The students of Burt Elementary and Austin Peay State University and the residents of Clarksville are very happy to have their historic clock back in one piece.

crane putting cupola back on clock tower

This report is presented by Anne Wall's fifth grade class