Hear that faint “ding” drifting over the bay? It’s the century-old bell atop Port St. Joe’s City Hall—just a breezy 1.4-mile glide from your campsite.
Key Takeaways
• What: A 100-year-old clock tower and bronze bell still ticking inside Port St. Joe City Hall
• Sound: Bell rings every hour, 8 a.m.–8 p.m., and can be heard all over downtown
• Distance: Just 1.4 miles from the RV resort (20-minute walk or 5-minute bike ride)
• Cost: Lobby exhibit, gear video, and outside listening are all free
• How it works: Giant iron weights are hand-cranked up every Monday to keep time
• Best visit window: Weekdays 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; arrive a few minutes before noon for the loudest chime
• Directions: Follow Hwy 98 sidewalk, turn onto Reid Ave; big vehicles park at Frank Pate Park
• Family fun: Kid scavenger hunt with QR video and nearby ice-cream reward
• Photo spots: Sunrise at George Core Park and “golden hour” downtown selfies (#PSJRings)
• Keep it ringing: Scan lobby QR to volunteer, donate, or share pics to support upkeep.
Inside that tower, an iron maze of gears still tugs heavy weights, spins clock hands, and swings the hammer that marks every hour of coastal life. One visit lets snowbirds stroll history, gives kids a hands-on “wow,” and hands remote workers a photogenic coffee break—all before lunch on Reid Avenue.
Stay with us to learn the tower’s back-from-the-dead story, the exact moment to catch its next chime, and the simplest way to park (or pedal) right to the door. Ready to ring in your new favorite Port St. Joe detour?
From Cotton Port to Clock Tower
St. Joseph boomed in the 1830s as the largest town in the Florida Territory, shipping bales of cotton from rail to schooner across St. Joseph Bay. A deadly yellow-fever outbreak in 1841 and a crushing hurricane in 1844 nearly erased the grid of streets, leaving empty sand flats and scattered timbers. Yet port towns rarely stay down for long, and the return of the railroad around 1910 sparked a civic comeback that included the stately City Hall and its proud clock tower (port history).
Clock towers were the smartphones of their day—one public tick everyone trusted. Tampa’s 1915 city hall installed a weight-driven Seth Thomas clock and a 1,500-pound McShane bell, and Port St. Joe’s tower, built in the same era, almost certainly shared that technology (Tampa example). Even without surviving invoices, the cast-iron frames, bronze bell weight, and gear ratios match period standards, giving historians a confident blueprint of what still hums above Reid Avenue.
How the Tower Keeps Time Without Batteries
Picture a giant grandfather clock hoisted sky-high. Three iron weights—each heavier than a grown gator—slowly drop inside the shaft, turning gears no thicker than your thumb. An escapement regulates every swing of the pendulum, and at the top of the hour a separate striking train lifts a hammer that smacks the bronze bell. When accuracy drifts, the chime drifts too, so keepers obsess over even the slightest lag.
Caretakers still climb a short service stair each Monday to crank the weights back up, a workout that takes about fifteen minutes. Twice a year the pivot points get a thin coat of clock oil; once a quarter, bird nests are evicted and the hands are checked for storm-blown branches. Visitors who can’t manage the climb can study a cutaway diagram in the lobby window that labels every gear and rope, making sense of the mechanism without a single step.
Weathering Gulf Storms
Salt air and hurricanes nibble at every metal bolt along the Gulf Coast, so the City Hall tower relies on stainless-steel anchors and corrosion-resistant tie rods. Louver shutters stay open for ventilation most days but can be latched in minutes when a storm churns in the Gulf. A digital time controller sits boxed on-site; if winds ever force the historic movement out for repairs, the temporary brain keeps the hands—and town spirit—running.
Communities nearby know why that matters. The 1903 bell tower at First Presbyterian in Wewahitchka took a hard hit from Hurricane Michael and still battles back with volunteer carpenters and grant writers (ongoing restoration). Regular three-year structural checks and immediate post-storm inspections above 80 mph are now a rule, not a suggestion, for Port St. Joe’s landmark.
Easy Directions From Port St. Joe RV Resort
Leave the big rig snug in its hookup and follow the sidewalk that hugs Highway 98, then veer onto Reid Avenue for a postcard downtown approach. The stroll covers 1.4 miles—about twenty minutes on foot or five minutes by bike—and it’s flat the whole way, perfect for knee-friendly wandering. A downloadable map on the resort app highlights crosswalks and bike racks so you never guess where to lock up or look both ways.
Parking downtown favors compact tow vehicles. Angled spots line Reid Avenue, while larger trucks fit best in the paved lot at Frank Pate Park, two blocks south. Public restrooms sit inside that park and at George Core Park, and you’ll pass both water fountains and shaded benches en route. Aim for a weekday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.—City Hall staff are in, traffic is light, and you can snag a seat outside to hear the noon chime float across the plaza.
Pick Your Perfect Visit
Snowbird couples often start Saturday at the farmers’ market, pamphlet of historic photos in hand, then drift to the tower just before the gentle 12 p.m. bell. Flat sidewalks, shady planters, and senior-friendly cafés like Provisions offer a no-rush pace and comfy chairs for lunch. Many linger on a bench across from the Welcome Center, timing afternoon shopping to the mellow rhythm of hourly rings.
Families spring for the Ring in the Fun scavenger hunt, a one-page printout that turns kids into clue detectives scouting keystones, stained glass, and the clock face. A sidewalk QR code pulls up a sixty-second gear-cam video—sprockets whir, hammer swings, and even the too-cool-for-school teens admit it looks like something out of a movie. Shoobies Ice Cream waits three minutes away, rewarding successful hunters with scoops they can count out by the chimes.
Remote work rovers chase golden hour first. A sunrise shot from George Core Park frames the tower silhouette against pink water, and the #GoldenHourGoals tag almost writes itself. A quick pedal returns them by 9 a.m.; twenty minutes inside the lobby window, a selfie, and they’re back at their laptop at No Name Café, sipping cold brew beside a strong outlet.
Local history buffs get the deep cut. The city clerk keeps blueprint copies from 1910 for on-site review, and the last Saturday of every month invites registered visitors behind a rope line for an 11 a.m. gear talk that drills into escapement math. Citation lists—TampaPix, Port Authority records, Gulf County News—fly off the table into tote bags faster than you can say “footnote.”
Half-Day Loop Around Downtown
Mixing sunrise, chimes, museums, and markets turns a simple tower stop into a memory-packed half-day. Start at 6:45 a.m. on the resort pier to watch first light spill across St. Joseph Bay. By 9:30 a.m. you’re at City Hall, camera ready as the bell marks time. Lunch on Reid Avenue around 11:30 a.m. means pet-friendly patios and fresh Gulf shrimp tacos.
Afternoon brings a five-minute wander to the Constitution Convention Museum, where Florida’s first state constitution comes alive in interactive exhibits. Check the events calendar: many Saturdays see art tents pop up in George Core Park by 3:30 p.m.—live folk music pairs nicely with a shaded seat and maybe another soft-serve cone. Back at the resort by 7 p.m., a campfire circle becomes the perfect place to retell how a century-old bell still rules the town clock.
Keep the Bell Ringing
The mechanism may be tough, but polish still beats rust. Twice a year, volunteers wipe brass gleam back into gear teeth and brush fresh paint on louvers. Sign-up sheets live behind an easy QR code in the lobby, perfect for RV travelers seeking a one-day feel-good project. Donations also fuel the preservation fund, ensuring replacement bearings, storm shutters, and safety harnesses are always in budget.
Social posts help too. Snap your tower selfie, tag #PSJRings, and join the stream filling local feeds. Every new share nudges friends and future visitors to put Port St. Joe on their map, keeping community pride—and the bell—ringing strong.
Let the next clang of that century-old bell be your cue to claim your own Gulf Coast escape. After you soak in the tower’s history, wander just minutes back to Port St. Joe RV Resort—where spacious sites, modern comforts, and a relaxed, pet-friendly community wait by the bay. Ready to let every chime usher in another memory? Book your stay with us today and start living on coastal time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the tower’s bell and clock mechanism still the original one from the early 1900s?
A: Yes, the weight-driven clockworks and bronze bell are the same century-old pieces that went up with City Hall in 1910, lovingly maintained so you can still hear their authentic chime every hour between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Q: When can I go inside to view the mechanism or lobby display?
A: The City Hall lobby is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and staff will gladly point out the cutaway diagram, live gear-cam monitor, and QR code video during those hours; on the last Saturday of each month the lobby also opens 10 a.m. to noon for the volunteer-led “gear talk.”
Q: Do I need a ticket or reservation for the visit?
A: No ticket is required and drop-ins are welcome, though groups larger than ten are asked to call City Hall a day ahead so everyone has space to gather comfortably near the exhibit window.
Q: How long should I plan to spend there?
A: Most guests spend thirty minutes looking over the display, snapping photos, and waiting for the next bell strike, so even if you add a chat with staff you can be back on Reid Avenue or at your laptop in under forty-five minutes.
Q: Is the visit kid-friendly and hands-on?
A: Absolutely, a one-page scavenger hunt sheet turns youngsters into clue detectives around the tower exterior and a sidewalk QR code launches a sixty-second video of the gears in motion, which keeps both nine-year-olds and teens engaged.
Q: Where do I park if I’m driving a truck or towing a fifth-wheel?
A: Large vehicles fit best in the paved lot at Frank Pate Park two blocks south of City Hall, while compact tow vehicles and cars can grab angled street parking on Reid Avenue right in front of the tower.
Q: Is the route from Port St. Joe RV Resort walkable or bike-friendly?
A: Yes, it’s a flat 1.4-mile sidewalk the whole way, taking about twenty minutes on foot or five minutes by cruiser bike, and you’ll find bike racks on both corners of Reid Avenue and Highway 98.
Q: Is the building accessible for visitors with limited mobility?
A: The ground-floor lobby display is wheelchair accessible, and although the narrow service stairs to the actual clock chamber are closed to the public, the video feed and large photo panels give a clear view of everything upstairs without climbing a step.
Q: Does the area have reliable cell service or Wi-Fi for a quick livestream?
A: Downtown Port St. Joe enjoys solid LTE coverage from all major carriers, and the public library across the street broadcasts free Wi-Fi that reaches the plaza if you need extra bandwidth for a live share.
Q: What’s the best time of day for photos of the tower?
A: Sunrise casts a soft pink glow on the brick façade when viewed from George Core Park, while late-afternoon light around 5 p.m. lights up the clock face for golden-hour selfies that need zero filter.
Q: Are pets allowed during the visit?
A: Leashed pets are welcome to stroll the exterior grounds with you, but only trained service animals may enter the City Hall lobby under the city’s indoor policy.
Q: Where can we eat or grab ice cream afterward?
A: From the front steps it’s a two-minute walk to Provisions for shrimp tacos or to Shoobies Ice Cream for a post-tour scoop, both located directly on Reid Avenue.
Q: How do I volunteer or donate to help keep the bell ringing?
A: A QR code posted in the lobby links to the Friends of the Port St. Joe Clock Tower, where you can sign up for the semi-annual cleaning day or make a tax-deductible gift that funds oil, replacement bearings, and storm hardening.
Q: Does the tower ever close due to weather?
A: If a tropical storm watch or stronger is issued for Gulf County, City Hall secures the louvers and suspends public visits until the all-clear, so always check the city’s Facebook page or call ahead during hurricane season.