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Elevated view of a clock tower from approximately a second story viewpoint. A plaza, stream, and brick academic building are visible in the background.

Whipple Clock Tower

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Written by Juliette Burns, Class of 2026

The clock tower in Jackson Plaza on the Willamette University campus—officially known as Whipple Clock Tower—was built along with the Mark O. Hatfield Library and the plaza in mid-1986. Plans for the clock tower were in circulation as early as 1982, with original plans including a fountain to be built as well.1 Early drawings of the clock tower have a solid base, without the opening included on the final construction, and what appears to be glass on top in the shape of a triangle.2 Whipple Clock Tower cost around $150,000 to build initially.3 The tower is named for Jim and Mildred Whipple, descendants of pioneer families who are honored in a plaque on one of the tower legs for exemplifying the motto: “not unto ourselves alone are we born.”

“Whipple Clock Tower: In honor of Jim and Mildred Wilcox Whipple, members of Douglas County pioneer families, whose commitment to the importance of learning and the mission of the United Methodist Church exemplifies Willamette University’s motto: ‘Not Unto Ourselves Alone Are We Born’”

The clock tower was described in the Willamette alumni magazine The Scene as having an 18 ton concrete base, a 49 foot steel structure, and a copper roof and spire. It was also described as being nearly 62 feet high when completed.4 Near the bottom of the base, where it opens to allow passage beneath, are four quotes carved on the four sides. These quotes come from Mark O. Hatfield, an Oregon senator, governor, and Willamette University alumnus and faculty member. They are messages of knowledge, compassion, and a rejection of ignorance and dogma. Underneath the clock tower is a time capsule, not to be opened until 2086.5

“KNOWLEDGE IS THE PREFACE OF PEACE”

“EDUCATION FINDS FULLFILLMENT IN COMPASSION”

“DOGMA THREATENS LIBERTY”

“EDUCATION BRINGS NATIONAL SECURITY”

Within a year of the construction, there arose an issue with the metal and glass on the clock faces, requiring better glass and adhesive to fix.6 The cheaper method previously used had likely not been strong enough. The additional cost to repair the clock caused discontent among the students, who were already unhappy with the original cost of the clock tower. This would be the beginning of issues with the clock faces regarding their practical use. Even after the physical issues of adhesive were solved, the clock struggled to show the correct time. Students complained bitterly in The Collegian about the issues with clock accuracy throughout the 1980s and all the way through the 2000s, with Whipple Clock Tower as the one of the main antagonists. An ongoing joke was that Willamette was “The Place Where Time Stands Still,” as the clock tower was stuck at 1:20pm.7

Photos of the new clock tower and library were quickly put into circulation as marketing material, appearing in the Willamette Catalogue (an overview of Willamette academics and environment) in 1987-8.8 Due to the above mentioned student complaints with the clock tower, this was a slightly controversial choice. The old library and the cupola on Waller Hall had been previously used as key images of the university, and students were unsure about the change. Within a couple of years, though, a new batch of students had embraced the clock tower as a symbol of the campus.9

With the advent of Jackson Plaza and the clock tower, the area began to be used as a gathering place for protest, whether in the form of banners, posters, sit ins, or a starting/ending site for marches. The plaza continues to be used in this fashion in a variety of ways. A major protest event in the plaza’s early history was the protests and sit-ins calling for peace during the Gulf War in 1991. Starting in late January 1991, an information booth under the clock tower evolved into a peace vigil by the newly formed Willamette Peace Project.10 This ‘clock tower vigil’ went on for a little over a month, staffed by student volunteers before ending at the confirmation of the end of the Gulf War at the beginning of March.11

Connected to this protest is the use of the clock tower for written information circulation. Protests against the fighting had been occurring on campus since at least early January, and on January 17th, a newspaper was pasted on the clock tower which proclaimed: “GULF WAR BEGINS”.12 In April 2002, sheets were hung on the clock tower, painted with statistics on violence against women during larger worldwide demonstrations for discourse about violence and commitment to non-violence.13 The clock tower sits in Jackson Plaza, one of the areas for moving between the parts of campus separated by the mill stream, it is frequented by many on a day to day basis and is often a vehicle for events, advertising, or protest. Since the plaza is quite bare, the clock tower can be a central place to put protest material, and standing under the tower can provide some slight protection from the elements.

The Whipple Clock Tower, since its inception, has been a symbol of many things. It has been a symbol of a growing, modernizing campus, a symbol of the opposite as the time-keeping struggled, a symbol of protest, of education, and of Willamette University. The clock tower has not been around long compared to the long history of the university, but it has stablished its place on the campus and in the minds of the past, present, and future students of Willamette.

Endnotes

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  1. ˆ “Tower Rash,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), November 29, 1982
  2. ˆ President and Board of Trustees of Willamette University, March 29, 1985, Program for Mark O. Hatfield Tribute Dinner, Box 3, Folder 23, University Library 1938-2004, Facilities Management Records, Willamette University Archives and Special Collections,
  3. ˆ Robi Osborn, “Flaw stops Whipple Clock Tower until May,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), March 11, 1987
  4. ˆ “Mark O. Hatfield Library: Construction enters final days,” The Scene (Willamette University, Salem, OR), February 1, 1986
  5. ˆ “Back from the Future,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), March 25, 1987
  6. ˆ Osborn, “Flaw stops Whipple Clock Tower until May”
  7. ˆ “Wheat thins, chip shots, and News McNuggets,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), March 25, 1987; ‘Castor and Pollux’, “The Cupola Commentary,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), October 30, 1987
  8. ˆ ‘Castor and Pollux’, “The Cupola Commentary”
  9. ˆ Martin Taylor, “Wake Up WU, This Isn’t Paradise,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), October 27, 1989; Elizabeth Coleman, “Questions Ponder ‘Willamette Way’,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), April 7, 1989; Lissy Galton, “Administration makes changes for better wheelchair access,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), February 6, 1998
  10. ˆ Lance Todd Shipley, “Teach-in for Peace to offer alternative education Tuesday,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), January 21, 1991; “Here they are—the most important news stories of the year,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), April 19, 1991
  11. ˆ “Gulf: fighting ends,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), March 1, 1991
  12. ˆ “Jan. 17, 1991 newspaper taped to Jackson Tower,” black and white, Willamette Archives and Special Collections, Campus Photograph Collection, January 18, 1991; J. Michael Stockman, “With body bags, sit-ins, and song, students sought peace,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), January 21, 1991
  13. ˆ Jesse Goldberg, “WU takes back the night,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), April 25, 2002

Works Referenced

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Image Citations

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