Nineteenth Century

1874 - 1917

Cheese Box Observatory

In 1874, to celebrate the Seminary’s fortieth anniversary, Mrs. Wheaton purchased a 4-inch refracting telescope, now housed in the Archives, from the famed London firm of John Browning. Local workmen built a small observatory to house it.

The Seminary’s first observatory was located at the edge of the Dimple near the Bowling Alley. It was replaced with a new observatory in the field behind the President’s House in 1917.

Because of its shape, the structure was colloquially known as “The Cheese Box.”