It all began in the early 70's when I took a trip to the Perkins Observatory at Delaware Ohio', for the Astronomers Summer picnic. There meeting with a fellow astronomer I was told that there was an old abandoned telescope on the campus of Ohio State University that was to be demolished soon.

I contacted various people in various departments at the University, finally working through the department of Astronomy/Physics with the Chairman of the department. I was able to begin finding direction to obtain the 12-inch diameter Emerson Mc Millin telescope built in part, about 1890 by Warner Swasey builders in Cleveland, Ohio.

I had to have the telescope transferred to a public institute, locally  it was our library where I had been teaching public astronomy classes. So after an enormous amount of effort by the members of my Astronomical Society and the Board Members of the library we were finally about to secure the telescope in the mid 1970's.

The telescope had to be lifted out of the near ruins of the observatory, section by section, loaded on a flat bed truck and delivered to the Union Carbide Company in Fostoria Ohio where we were given space to refurbish the telescope, thanks to the plant manager there at that time.

After a great deal of time and expense, the telescope was brought back to a usable condition. Now for the location? A site was offered as a donation, and the materials for a small housing, also offered as a donation for the project, but there were ego's within the group, and they wanted a full-blown observatory much like the Mt. Palomar observatory. Given we were working on a no funds situation, small donations only to get this project under way , the squabbling grew. This set the wheel in motion, or I should say better yet, it basically stopped the motion of all that was set out for a purpose.

The great and historic telescope sat for a few  years in the work area and the company really wanted it out of the area. The great care to restore the telescope was now beginning to tarnish; dust, dulling of the brass, and some rust was beginning to creep.

I felt uncomfortable that there were egos within the Astronomical Society, which really ruined the chances that were so close to becoming a reality for the observatory. I set out to find the telescope a new home. A friend of mine suggested contacting some folks in the Tiffin, Ohio area where there might be funds again and renewed interest to house the telescope. After some work and many contacts there were those who wanted to take position of the telescope. It  finally became controlled by the Heidelberg College of Tiffin, Ohio.

Shared with astronomy clubs and public, finally the telescope has been peering into the dark night skies in a modest observatory, and hopefully stimulating minds of all ages. It's been a very interesting and sad journey this path that  took for some of us, but at last, its doing the job intended! In a path way set forth by fate, I was instrumental in saving the telescope form being demolished and no longer used to peer in to the Heaven's, and inspiring minds of all ages......

Needless to say, this Observatory was a land mark feature of the Ohio State University in the late 1800's. In its day it was among the finest, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a well noted astronomer and Ufologist became one of the Director's.

As time went on, there were bigger and more powerful telescope being built around the country and the world. The Mc Millin Observatory was also being dwarf by the ever growing Campus and tall buildings blocking the night sky view, and with the growing number of lights.

The man who was so generous was Emerson Mc Millin, born in Ewington, Ohio in 1843. At the age of 17, Mc Millin enlisted in the in the military during the Civil War, for four years. After the war, he took over a small gas works. With his insight, he was launched to the top of the financial empire in New York.

Among many visits to Columbus, Mc Millin found himself seated next to Julis Stone, an active armature astronomer. The discussion was about the sun, and the business that caused its glowing, and a question was raised as to the cost of a moderate size telescope?

Steps were being made by the college of Engineering in 1891 for the erection of an observatory. By July 22, 1891, the board of Trustees had appropriated $3,000 received from the New Morrell Act for equipment for the observatory and Instruction of Astronomy. One month later the business was stopped, insufficient funds to build what was necessary.

Mc Millin wrote to Mr. Stone asking what it would cost for an Observatory in Columbus. The letter was also read by the Trustees where it was stated by Mc Millin that a maximum of $10,000 was not to be exceeded for the Observatory and Telescope, etc.
The offer was greatly appreciated, and as a result, on June 10, 1895 meeting that contracts had been made for 12" optics, a spectroscope from John A. Brashear of Pittsburgh. Also there was agreed by Mc Millin to pay for the Observatory that should not exceed $5,000. By the end of 1895 the instruments and observatory were nearly complete by the end of the year.

The formal opening of the Observatory took place June 16, 1896, attended by a large audience and dedicated to the man who made it all possible. In the summer of 1902, the University added to the building a lecture room, able to hold 30 to 40 students.

Research was carried on at the Mc Millim Observatory in the field of classical astronomy.  Radial velocities, in which several innovative methods were introduced. Within for years after the observatory had opened, it was announced by a German report, that the Mc Millin Observatory was among the top four leading in research of work on radial velocities.

Professor Lord retired from his position 1923, after 28 years of service as director of the Emerson Mc Millin Observatory. Professor Edmund S. Mansen Jr. took his place at the eyepiece of the 12" telescope.

He was to carry on observations in classical astronomy; the observations of asteroids and satellites, proper motion of stars and celestial mechanics. Before Masen retired, he would be credited with observing more than 90 asteroids.

In 1935, came Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who spent many years making observations on the distortion produced by the earth's atmosphere on image formation in the telescope. He ascended from instructor to chairman of the department of Astronomy, and director of Emerson Mc Millin Observatory, after the retirement of Mesen in 1946.

In the 50's the observatory fell into a great deal of disuse, the bigger and better observatory Perkins not far away, came into use by the O.S.U. astronomers. Far enough from the lights of Columbus lights, the 69" mirror served far better than the 12" lens of the Mc Millin refractor.

In 1959 Dr. Arne Slettebak took the position that Hynek had left for another position of training at another institution. In the 1960's the observatory was to receive a few improvements, the building saw none. As the department grew in size, the opposite was taking place for the observatory.

The Mc Millin observatory was used as a teaching tool until 1962, when at this point the wooden dome and shutters were declared unsafe. The telescope is now useless without the operation of the dome. The classroom which once taught and stimulated much of the Cosmos now fell silent and the planetarium star less. The observatory was now scheduled to be demolished. In some strange path of fate, I was placed in a position that would forever stop this destruction of the telescope, and continue to give the public a peek at the Milky Way as Mc Millin wanted!

As a final request of Emerson Mc Millin was that the public gets an occasional peek at the Milky Way, this is so now, and can be viewed from a site North of Tiffin Ohio. To obtain times and dates of public observations, contact Heidelberg College at:

1-800-925-9250
Heidelberg College
310 E. Market St.
Tiffin, OH 44883
 
 

 Story by Mr. Dennis Saldusky
Webmaster
 

          Click Here for reading on  Emerson McMillin