It's A Little-Known Fact That The Alarm Clock Was Actually Invented In New Hampshire
By Ken MacGray|Published August 01, 2023
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Ken MacGray
Author
Hey! I'm a freelance writer and guidebook author. I've authored "New Hampshire's 52 With A View - A Hiker's Guide", serve as editor of Appalachian Mountain Club's "Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide", and and am co-editor of the "White Mountain Guide", also for AMC. I'm currently beginning work on the 6th Edition of AMC's Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, which will be published in 2025. I live in southern New Hampshire and can usually be found wandering throughout the state's mountains and forests.
I admit that when I was a young kid, I used to sleep away half the day. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in this. But as I got older, I found that some assistance was needed at times to get the brain and body moving for the day ahead. This assistance came in the form of an alarm clock and while this device is a common device and is a part of our everyday lives now, it wasn’t always so. It’s also one of a handful of New Hampshire inventions that you may not be aware of.
Before getting into timepieces, Levi Hutchins served in the military as a fifer in the American Revolutionary War. He served under his father and was a witness to the burning of Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Around 1880, after an apprenticeship in watch repairs, Hutchins and his brother Abel returned to Concord and set up shop on Main Street. It was during this time that he created the world's first alarm clock.
Even though we may have a love/hate relationship with alarm clocks, depending on how much we like to sleep, they have become an indispensable tool for keeping our lives on track.
