As the basic structure was going up, however, several other interesting events occurred affecting the eventual appearance of the campanile. One of these truly spectacular events was the acquisition of the Fasoldt clock by the Iowa State Teachers College, which was eventually installed into the structure. This clock was the creation of Charles Fasoldt, a clockmaker from Albany, New York, who won first prize at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, the same year the Iowa State Normal School was founded.  Following this exposition, the clock was put into storage until its creator's death. At this time, Charles Fasoldt "willed the clock, valued at $5,000, to the institution or municipality that could guarantee the best care and setting for the masterpiece. From over 300 competitors, [the] Teachers College was chosen for the gift."  This was a stunning accomplishment.

     In May 1927, Charles Fasoldt's grandson set the clock in place and President Seerley started the pendulum. Prior to 1950, the clockworks ran on a complicated system of wires, gears, motors, and a long wooden shaft.  The growing inaccuracy of this system, however, led the college to invest in a minor change of gears. In 1950, this older clockwork system was replaced by a more modern, electrical system, in which a master clock directs the large hands on all four sides of the campanile; the original clockworks were retired and put on display inside the campanile.