Morrison Observatory is an astronomical

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 observatory

Observatory

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

 owned and operated by Central Methodist University

Central Methodist University

Central Methodist University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is an accredited four year institution of higher education and offers masters, bachelors, and associates degrees...

 located in Fayette

Fayette, Missouri

Fayette is a city in Howard County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,793 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County. It is in the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 (USA). It was named after Bernice Morrison

Bernice Morrison

Bernice Morrison was an American heiress and benefactor of the Morrison Observatory.Bernice Morrison was born in St. Louis, Missouri to William M. Morrison and Sara Catherine "Kate" Swinney...

 who, in 1874, pledged $100,000 to C. W. Pritchett

Carr Waller Pritchett, Sr.

Carr Waller Pritchet, Sr. 1823-1910 was an American educator and astronomer. He was the first President of Pritchett College in Glasgow, Missouri and the first director of the Morrison Observatory, also in Glasgow. C. W...

 for the construction of the observatory. Half of that amount would go the construction of the telescope and observatory; the other half to a permanent trust fund. The observatory was built soon afterwards in Glasgow, Missouri

Glasgow, Missouri

Glasgow is a city in Chariton and Howard counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,263 at the 2000 census.The Howard County portion of Glasgow is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 at Pritchett College

Pritchett College

Pritchett College was a small institution that operated in Glasgow, Missouri from 1866 until 1922. It was founded as Pritchett School Institute and became known as Pritchett College after 1897.-History:...

 and opened in 1875.

A 12.25 inch Clark

Alvan Clark

Alvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...

 Refractor was installed in a dome that Dr. Pritchett modeled after the Harvard College Observatory

Harvard College Observatory

The Harvard College Observatory is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and was founded in 1839...

. In 1876, a 6 inch Meridian Telescope built by Troughton & Simms

Troughton & Simms

Troughton & Simms was a British instrument-making firm, 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...

 of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 was installed and the Observatory began selling the time to the Chicago & Alton Railroad and various Time Ball

Time ball

A time ball is a large painted wooden or metal ball that drops at a predetermined time, principally to enable sailors to check their marine chronometers from their boats offshore...

s in St. Louis and Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

.

In 1922 the Pritchett School Institute failed financially, but in 1926 Central Methodist College, with some encouragement from Morrison and Pritchett, gained possession of the observatory "in order to restore its equipment and make use of it." Because it was awkward to have the observatory in Glasgow, which was 12 miles from the college in Fayette, in 1935 the observatory was moved to a high, unobstructed ridge about 10 minutes' walk from the campus, where it still stands. Harvard's Harlow Shapley

Harlow Shapley

Harlow Shapley was an American astronomer.-Career:He was born on a farm in Nashville, Missouri, and dropped out of school with only the equivalent of a fifth-grade education...

 was the dedication speaker on June 1, 1936.

In 1961 the Central Missouri Amateur Astronomers built a 12-inch reflecting telescope which they donated to the observatory. It is housed in a building about 100 feet northwest of the Clark refractor.

External links

• Article on Morrison Observatory from Rural Missouri Online
• Web article on Morrison Observatory
• Fayette Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions covering Morrison Observatory.