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 (142,000 m²) 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).
The rights to the name "Elgin" were sold, but Elgin-branded watches produced after 1964 have no other connection to Elgin or the Elgin Watch Company.
==Source==
*Complete Watch Guide, by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, Edition 1998, ISBN 1-57432-064-5
==External links==
* The Elgin Watch Collectors Site
* entry in Encyclopedia of Chicago
* The Elgin Story (words & pictures)
Category:Watchmakers
Fr:Elgin_Watch_Company