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HPS annual meeting to observe McKim history
McKim Observatory is a national treasure in Greencastle’s backyard. At the Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County’s (HPS) annual meeting on Thursday, March 21 at 6 p.m. at the Putnam County Museum, everyone is invited to learn more about the DePauw University landmark.
After a brief business meeting, the floor will be given to DePauw Professors Mary Kertzman, Howard Brooks and Alex Komives of the Physics and Astronomy Department under whose auspices the McKim operates. They will expound upon the topic “Indiana’s First Light: The Story of Our State’s First Observatory.”
Built in 1884, the edifice was largely possible thanks to the largess of Robert McKim. A native of Scotland, he was a successful businessman who resided in Madison, Ind, and was a friend of Washington C. DePauw, a trustee at then Indiana Asbury University.
In 1885 a home was erected nearby for the first director, Prof. John P. D. John, who later became president of the college. The house still stands, although now at an address on Franklin Street, not the original orientation. The observatory is located at DePauw and Highridge avenues.
McKim has faced challenges over the years. In fact, at the time of construction the financial situation was so dire at the school that the president and faculty had taken a pay cut and the librarian had not been paid for six months, according to an article by Jerome Hixon in the October 1971 DePauw Alumnus magazine. However, this facility was considered crucial to the vision shared for the college’s future.
Additionally, at one point the observatory fell into disrepair and was almost dismantled. Fortunately, forward-thinking preservation prevailed, and in 1979 the McKim was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
As ongoing maintenance continues to be a burden, DePauw has sought partners in the quest to keep the building in repair. This past fall, Indiana Landmarks, in conversation with HPS, President Mark McCoy and Profs. Kertzman and Brooks, offered to pursue grants to aid the upkeep of this important structure. To this end, Indiana Landmarks has worked with the college to successfully secure additional Statewide Significance recognition by the National Park Service for the observatory, making it eligible to be considered for certain funding.
In John J. Baughman’s book “Our Past, Their Present,” he in turn quotes from “U.S. Observatories: A Directory and Travel Guide” by H.T. Kirby-Smith concerning McKim: “Since it has not been continually modernized, it seems to furnish the outstanding example in the country of an excellent nineteenth-century observatory. One wishes the Smithsonian could arrange to have it preserved and regularly open as a museum piece. … This is one of the most interesting small observatories in the world from an historical point of view.”
DePauw does have periodic open houses for star-gazing at the global gem. In fact, plans are in the works to host a special tour in conjunction with HPS in the near future. Besides housing the original telescopes, which boast an impressive provenance and are actually still in use, the facility is also an active site for current classwork. McKim Obervatory is not simply frozen in time; the observatory, while well-preserved, is yet still relevant.
HPS is an all-volunteer non-profit organization, which strives to preserve the past to serve the future. Recent projects include the restoration of the Civil War Memorial and the placing of two clocks in the Putnam County Courthouse façade.
Memberships are available for individuals at $25, households at $35, and Advocate, Guardian and Preservationist levels at $50, $100 and $200, respectively. The mailing address is P.O. Box 163, Greencastle, IN 46135.