Former Southern Indiana Reformatory and Colgate Clock (Clarksville, Indiana)

 landmark, place with historical importance, interesting place

The Southern Indiana Reformatory used prison labor to produce furniture and many other items used in the state’s hospitals, asylums and schools. When the state announced its intention to close the jail, a commercial manufacturer saw opportunity in the complex and its location. Colgate-Palmolive bought the Clarksville site in 1921 and began making soap even before all the prisoners were relocated. Colgate-Palmolive added structures to accommodate its expanding product line, including a 1940s Art Moderne office building. Since the ‘20s, folks in southern Indiana and Louisville have checked the time by glancing at the huge lighted face of the Colgate-Palmolive clock mounted atop the main reformatory-turned-factory building, built in 1890. Measuring 40 feet across, the landmark timepiece ranks among the largest clocks in the world.

The plant was closed in December of 2007. A vast, aged industrial complex presents a tough preservation challenge. The company has listed the 942,000 square feet of industrial and office space and 60 acres for sale for $13.3 million. State officials offered to nominate the property to the National Register of Historic Places, but Colgate-Palmolive refused access and owner consent.

Progress in the past year: Bowing to local pressure, Colgate-Palmolive has said it will not take the beloved clock, which it moved to Indiana from its New Jersey plant in 1924. So at least the complex has time on its side.

www.historiclandmarks.org/SavingPlaces/10Most/Pages/Col...

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