After the 1879 firedestroyed the existing belfry and clock at the Courthouse, construction began almost immediately on a new clock tower.  Newspapers published at the time reveal that Newark's citizens considered the clock to be a matter of particular importance.  The whole courthouse was beloved, but the clock was a special point of pride.  

The original clock, in place for the dedication ceremony of 1878, arrived in Newark on August 23 of that year.  Weighing 4700 pounds and bringing the dome of the courthouse to 180 feet, the original Howard clock cost three thousand dollars. It first struck the time of day on Wednesday, September 4, 1878 at 12:00 noon.  In the nearly seven months it was in operation, it became a fixture in the daily lives of Newark residents who heard it toll every day.  Its loss to fire in March 1879 was intolerable.

From the April 4, 1879 edition of the Newark Advocate:
"The object upon which the chief gaze of all was fixed for the first half or three quarters of an hour of the fire's progress, was THE FAITHFUL COURT HOUSE CLOCK...The old clock stood its ground bravely and calmly, like a sentinel who is resolved to die at his post.

As the old clock disappeared forever, an involuntary shudder passed through the crowd."

A week after the fire, the County Auditor announced that he was accepting proposals for a new clock, "identical or similar in construction, and at least equal to a number four Howard tower clock."  The new tower was constructed of iron and intended to be fireproof.  By May 21st of the next year, 1880, the new tower was completed and the new clock in place.  The new clock was nearly identical to the old one, except slightly larger-eight feet, four inches in diameter-and its presence atop the courthouse restored order and familiarity to the public square.

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Sources:

"1879 Fire Destroys Tower Clock."  the Newark Advocate, April 4, 1979. 
Editorial, the Newark Advocate, May 21, 1880. 
Myer, H.E. "Original Specifications for the erection of a Court-House, to be built in the City of Newark, County of Licking, and State of Ohio."  Courtesy of the Licking County Historical Society archives.