The Right Place, The Right Time - The Story of Ridgeway Clocks, division of Gravely Furniture Co., Inc., by Will Gravely

There is no grander statement for the home, nor more coveted prize at a NASCAR race, than a Ridgeway Grandfather Clock. Will Gravely will talk about his family’s unique space in the furniture industry during his program at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at the MHC Heritage Museum. The history of Ridgeway Clocks started exactly 100 years ago when Mr. R.P. Gravely and other local businessmen subscribed to $100,000 in stock to start a company to make furniture in the building in uptown Martinsville that at the time was that of B.F. and R.P. Gravely, being used for the manufacture of pins and brackets, etc., for telegraph and telephone companies. Gravely Furniture Company made household furniture until the early 1960's when they started manufacturing grandfather clocks. The Martinsville Speedway has been giving a Ridgeway Clock grandfather clock as its race prize since 1964. In 1985, the Gravely Furniture Company was sold to Pulaski Furniture Corporation. In November 2004, Pulaski sold Ridgeway Clock to Howard Miller Clock Company in Zeeland, Michigan. Howard Miller announced they would shut down in 2025.