Fun Facts
Clock Tower:
- The tower was built in 2010 by the Berne Community Development Corporation.
- The tower stands 160 feet tall from the base to the top of the finial.
- The tower is 32 feet wide at its base.
- The tower weighs approximately 1,216 tons.
- The foundation of the tower consists of 14 tons of steel rebar and 588 tons of concrete.
- There are 40 concrete panels in the tower, each weighing between 4 and 9 tons.
- Each clock face on the tower is 18 feet in diameter.
- The clock hands on the tower are made of gold anodized aluminum and are 15 feet long.
- Over 300 people worked on the design, fabrication and erection of the clock tower.
- The glockenspiel contains 12 figures, each approximately 5.5 feet tall.
- The bell ringer in the belfry is 7 feet tall.
- The tower’s carillon is capable of playing over 1,000 songs.
Plaza:
- There are 66 trees (32 Crimson Sentry Maples, 16 Prairifire Crabapples, 17 Aristocrat Pears, and 1 Red Oak) and 1,310 bushes and other plantings at the plaza.
- Approximately 2,500 annual flowers are planted at the plaza each year.
- There are 4,220 crocus bulbs planted to come up at the plaza in early spring.
- At each main entrance to the plaza, there is a directional compass carved into a limestone tablet showing from which side of the plaza one is entering, north, south, east or west.
- There are 12 light poles, seven park benches, and seven trash receptacles at the plaza.
- There are three quilt gardens using well known quilt patterns in order to commemorate three themes: South Adams Schools (Quilt Star), Patriotic (Salute to Colors), Cooperation (Hand in Hand).
- The canton tree is composed of a wood post with the crests of each of the Swiss Cantons (states), plus a crest for the United States, Switzerland, Indiana, Canton Bern, Berne Indiana, and Trachselwald (our sister city). There are 64 crests in all (32 on each side of the canton tree). There is only one other known canton tree in the world, and that is in London, England (a gift to England from Switzerland in 1991).
- The canton tree post is one solid piece of pressure treated pine from Arkansas measuring 32 feet long and 18inches square. It contains 864 board feet of lumber. There are 60 annular rings in the post.
- The settlers monument is hand carved from Indiana Limestone. The life-size figures represent the spirit of the early settlers of the Berne area, with the woman cradling their baby in her arms, and the man with his arms outstretched asking God’s blessings on this new land of opportunity.
- The bear statue is made of bronze and weighs over 1,200 pounds. The natural limestone plinth (base) was quarried near Batesville, Indiana, and weighs over 6 tons. The bear has been the heraldic symbol of Bern, Switzerland since at least the 1220s. In Berne, Indiana, the bear is represented on the city flag and coat of arms, and was the mascot for Berne High School.
- The popular splash pad at the plaza has 15 directional, fountain and cylinder sprays and jets.
- The pavilion at the plaza was completed in 2015, and the building contains restrooms for men and women as well as the computer, pipes, fittings, valves, and controls for the splash pad. There are eight picnic tables also located at the pavilion.
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