Editing Peru, Illinois (section)

===Clock City (1884–1980)===
[[File:Westclox Peru front 2007.jpg|thumb|left|Westclox Building]]

In 1884, Stahlberg started the United Clock Company in Peru. Shortly afterward, it went bankrupt and was reorganized with the help of [[Frederick William Matthiessen]] as the Western Clock Company. By 1905 it had grown into a national company, producing over 1 million alarm clocks per year. In 1909, they trademarked "[[Westclox]]". In 1917 they became a model for workers' benefits, one of the early companies to pay life insurance and have a safety committee. Later on, they limited the work week, constructed a company park with a tennis court and horseshoe courts, developed workers' housing, and established a school for watchmakers with provision for scholarships. In 1935 it was the safest company in the nation, with 11 million hours without a lost time accident.<ref name=":0" />

During World War II the company made mechanical fuses for the government and had more than 600 of its employees enter the armed forces.  At its height it manufactured nearly 2 million clocks and watches annually and employed over 4,000 persons. It closed the Peru factory in 1980; the loss of jobs caused a rapid decline in population in LaSalle and Peru.

Today the old Westclox Administration Building is now the headquarter for the Carus Corporation and the rest of the Westclox complex is being redeveloped into a commercial center. The building is also home to the Westclox Museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.westcloxmuseum.com/about |website=Westclox Museum |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref> The building caught fire on July 14, 2023.