Loomis Observatory (also known as the Elias Loomis Observatory) is the second oldest

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Construction was completed in 1838. It is on the campus of

Western Reserve Academy , motto_translation = Light and Truth , address = 115 College Street , city = Hudson , state = Ohio , zipcode = 44236-2999 , country = United ...

, a college preparatory school. When the observatory was constructed the school was Western Reserve College, which later repaired to Cleveland and is now known as

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

. The Loomis Observatory is the oldest observatory in the United States still sitting in its original location. The oldest American observatory, the

Hopkins Observatory Hopkins Observatory is an astronomy, astronomical observatory owned and operated by Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts (USA). Constructed in 1838 by Albert Hopkins, the college claims that it is the olde ...

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

, also completed in 1838, has been relocated twice in its history. Under the influence and design of Professor

Elias Loomis Elias Loomis (August 7, 1811 – August 15, 1889) was an American mathematician. He served as a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Case Western Reserve University, Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University), the ...

, who purchased the necessary instruments in England after studying in Europe, the observatory was built by architect Simeon Porter. The original

Troughton & Simms Troughton & Simms was a British scientific instrument firm. It was formed when Edward Troughton in his old age took on William Simms as a partner in 1826. It became a limited company in 1915 and in 1922 it merged with T. Cooke & Sons to form ...

equatorial telescope An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, the polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and camera ...

and Robert Molyneux-built

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

remain in the observatory dating to 1837. An inscription on the historic marker reads: "

and

Charles Augustus Young Charles Augustus Young (15 December 1834 – 4 January 1908) one of the foremost solar spectroscopist astronomers in the United States. He observed solar eclipses and worked on spectroscopy of the Sun. He observed a solar flare with a spectr ...

worked in this Observatory, built in 1838, the third to be erected in the United States, the second oldest standing (1926)." James Ellsworth restored the observatory in 1908, and it was again restored in 1963.

References

{{authority control 1838 establishments in Ohio Case Western Reserve University National Register of Historic Places in Summit County, Ohio School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio