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Hiram Mills Perkins

In 1861 the Civil War began. A professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Ohio Wesleyan University, Hiram Mills Perkins, left his teaching position to join the Union Army. The 6' 4" professor (who weighed only 97 pounds) was rejected by the Army as unfit for service. Undaunted by this, Hiram did the next best thing... he returned to his family's pig farm in southern Ohio and raised hogs to help feed the Union Troops.
 

A Pork Barrel Project

As anyone who has ever worked for a Defense Contractor can tell you, there is a LOT of money to be made selling things to the Army during a war. Hiram was no exception to this. However, as a devout Methodist and a man of deep convictions, Hiram felt it would be immoral to materially benefit from the pain and suffering of others (even in such an indirect way as providing food for Army troops). He therefore put his war profits into investments and returned to Ohio Wesleyan University after the war and lived out the rest of his life as a simple teacher.

Upon retirement in 1907, Hiram devoted himself to a new project. Over the next 15 years he drew up the plans for an observatory to be located in Central Ohio. Initially intended to be of modest size, Hiram soon realized that his considerable wealth allowed construction of a world-class facility. Finally, in 1923, Hiram Perkins (now 90 years old) officiated at the ground breaking ceremony that began the construction of the observatory that was to bear his name. Unfortunately, Hiram died soon thereafter and was never to see his project completed. To this day some people believe that Hiram's ghost haunts the grounds of the observatory, out of frustration and angst that he could never use the telescope his money paid for.

Telescope Pier Under Construction

The first task in constructing the observatory was to build the support pier to hold the telescope in place. Construction was contracted to the Warner and Swasey Company of Ohio, which built many large observatories around this time, including Yerkes Observatory near Chicago. Note the high-tech heavy construction "truck."

 

Perkins Observatory Nearly Complete

As the observatory building neared completion, in became apparent that the telescope itself would require several more years before it would see first light. World War I had come and gone in Europe, destroying all of the major glass works which could produce large mirrors for telescopes.

 

The Perkins Observatory
(Just After Completion)

The 69-Inch Mirror

Ohio Wesleyan University was able to persuade the National Bureau of Standards to undertake the task of casting the mirror for Perkins Observatory. After four failed attempts, a mirror was finally successfully completed. However, instead of the 60-inch mirror originally intended, the bureau had produced a 69-inch mirror. Although it required some changes to the telescope mount, they decided to use the larger mirror. (The making of the 69-inch mirror is detail here)

 

The 69-inch Perkins Telescope

When it was completed in 1931, the Perkins Telescope was the third largest in the world. Perkins had one of the best Astronomical Libraries of the day, as well as facilities to accommodate visiting astronomers from all over the world. However, its location in Central Ohio left much to be desired. For one, all the people who live in Columbus and Delaware very rudely turn on their lights at night. The resulting light pollution severely limits the number of deep sky objects that can be observed. Also, the low elevation combined with typical Midwestern weather combined to make the big telescope quite limited in usefulness. Because of this, in 1961 the Perkins Telescope was moved to Arizona, where it is now a part of the Lowell Observatory, near Flagstaff. Don't worry. We have another, smaller telescope (32-inch... not too small) to replace it.

The 69-inch mirror didn't stay at Lowell for very long. It has since done a bit of traveling. It finally found its way home in 1999. Click here to learn about it.
 

"The Telescope" Magazine

Over the years, many famous Astronomers have visited Perkins. In 1932 the Director of the Observatory began publication of a small magazine about Astronomy. At first "The Telescope" mostly dealt with research conducted at Perkins, but over the following years it expanded its coverage of topics. Eventually, in 1941, it merged with another astronomy magazine called "The Sky" to become the familiar Sky & Telescope Magazine we all know and love today.

Ohio Wesleyan University is now and has always been a small liberal arts college. It was realized very early on that they had neither the resources nor the staff to operate and manage a world-class research telescope. Therefore, in 1935, an agreement was entered into with The Ohio State University. OSU would use the telescope as their primary research instrument. In return they would provide funding and staff to keep Perkins going. This agreement was in effect for 63 years.

OSU Withdrew Their Funding in 1998.

As of August 1st, 1998, The Ohio State University stopped providing funding to Perkins Observatory. This was due to OSU entering into new agreements with other universities to purchase time on larger, more modern telescopes. For this reason, Perkins is attempting to establish an endowment fund to enable us to keep our doors open to the public.

The Story of the 69-Inch Mirror Move

Photo by Jim Gauldin

The mirror above was the
FIRST LARGE TELESCOPE MIRROR EVER CAST IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE!
In 1931, it was the third largest in the world!

You may want to first read the History of Perkins Observatory for context on this story.

Chapter 1: Creation of the Mirror

In which we discuss how the mirror came to be.

Prior to 1923, if you wanted a big mirror for your telescope, you went to Europe. All the glass making factories of any importance were located there. But at the time he made his gift to the Ohio Wesleyan University, Hiram had stipulated that the mirror be made in America. In any event, since this was right after World War I, most European glassworks were in ruins.

The task eventually fell to the U.S. Bureau of standards to cast the large mirror blank. It may seem odd that an organization created to standardize weights and measures would try its hand at mirror-making. The idea was that once they understood the techniques involved, this information would be passed on to private companies. From that point on, the United States would no longer be dependent on Europe for its telescope mirrors.

The first four attempts to cast a mirror blank were unsuccessful. The cooling process is the most critical part of mirror-making, and it is here that they encountered the most difficulties. After the glass pieces melted and flowed into the mold, the oven had to be cooled very, very slowly to avoid stress in the glass that can occur if parts of it are different temperatures. On the fifth attempt the glass blank was cooled so slowly that it took almost eight months before it could be removed from the oven.

Here is G. K. Burgess (right), Director of the Bureau of Standards at the time, and C. C. Crump, first Director of Perkins Observatory. Mr. Burgess is pointing out the 8-inch hole bored through the mirror blank. The core removed from the hole sits on top of the mirror.

And still the mirror was not finished. Having a 69-inch blank is all well and good, but it needed to be ground to the proper shape and polished to perfection. This took an additional three years. When it was finished, it was the first large telescope mirror ever made in the United States, or, for that matter, in the entire Western hemisphere!

At 69-inches wide and 9.5 inches thick, the mirror weighs in at about 4,000 pounds. almost two tons of glass! At the time, it was the third largest telescope mirror in the entire world!

The 69-inch mirror was installed at last in 1931, eight years after construction of the observatory began.

Chapter 2: Use of the Mirror

The Incredible Eye on the Sky!

For 30 years, the 69-inch telescope resided at Perkins Observatory. It was used primarily for spectroscopic work.

However, Ohio is really not a great place for a large research instrument. The generally crappy weather and low elevation combine to limit the amount of useful data that can be collected from a telescope. Even worse, after World War II, the use of outdoor nighttime lighting increased dramatically throughout the urban areas of America. As a result, light pollution has robbed most people of their ability to enjoy the stars. It clearly robbed the Perkins Telescope of its usefulness.

 

Chapter 3: the Amazing Mirror Road Trip!

How much fun should one telescope mirror be allowed to have, anyway?

In 1961 the decision was made to move the Perkins Telescope to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. This was done to provide darker skies, fewer clouds, and a higher elevation. This was the largest telescope to ever be moved, before or since.

The move was paid for with a grant from the National Science Foundation. Remember, in the 1950's and 60's the United States was charging full speed ahead in the "Space Race". Science education was the cause of the day, and the NSF had more money than they seemed to know what to do with.

Once the telescope was moved and reassembled, the 69-inch mirror stayed in use for just a couple of years. In 1932, just one year after the mirror was finished, Dow-Corning introduced a new glass-like material called "Pyrex". Because of its very low coefficient of expansion, Pyrex was ideal for use in cooking, baking, and telescope making. Since Pyrex mirrors are so much better than crown-glass mirrors (like the 69-inch), a new mirror was cast for the Perkins Telescope. As it turns out, the new mirror was 72-inches across.

But the 69-inch didn't stay in Arizona for long. In 1964 a new science museum opened in Columbus, called COSI (the Center of Science and Industry). Two of the high-ranking staff members thought that the mirror would make an excellent exhibit, and arranged for its extended loan from the Ohio Wesleyan University. They then rented a truck and drove to Arizona to pick it up. On the way back, they managed to burn out all of the gears in the truck except for one - first gear. So the 69-inch mirror came back to Ohio from Arizona, all the way, in first gear.

The mirror stayed at COSI for 35 years. For most of that time it was on display on the second floor in the Earth Sciences Area. At one time, COSI designed a very nice series of exhibits on glass and optics with the mirror as its centerpiece. However, in the late 1980's they decided to take it off display. They didn't move it into storage (4,000 pounds, remember?). Instead, a closet was built around it.

Chapter 4: Return of the Mirror!

At long last, our baby comes home.

On Tuesday, September 14th, 1999, the 69-inch mirror came home to Perkins Observatory. Removal of the mirror from the wall took place the day before. It was brought down a newly-installed freight elevator and crated up in the first floor exhibit area in preparation for loading and hauling to Perkins the next day.

Photo by Bob Martino

Photo by Gary McCool

Photo by Mike Godwin

Here you can see the mirror in the closet, recessed into the back wall. It looks like there is a quarter slice taken out of it. Actually, COSI covered three quarters of the mirror with aluminized mylar. This was to show what it looked like when it was in use. Part of it was left uncoated so that visitors could see into the glass itself. In its day this was actually a very nice exhibit. Note that in the center photo you can see the reflection of the rest of the closet and its contents.

The closet doors and part of the wall had to be torn out in order to remove the mirror. Gary McCool and Bob Martino also attacked the alcove where it once rested with sledgehammers and crowbars. We really needed the wooden cradle that the mirror rested on (seen in right photo, sitting upside-down). In the end, we took the cradle and most of the alcove as well.

Photo by Bob Martino

Photo by Mike Godwin

Photo by Mike Godwin

After bringing it down from the second floor, the COSI folks built a crate specifically to ship the mirror. The next day was moving day. Here we see it being loaded onto the truck. Many Perkins volunteers and CAS (Columbus Astronomical Society) members were on hand for the historic occasion.

Photo by Jim Gauldin

The local media (Channel 10) interviews Don Stevens,  Perkins Observatory volunteer (Now staff member).

Photo by Jim Gauldin	The truck with the crated mirror arrives at Perkins Observatory (left). The truck backs up to the rear entrance of Perkins (right).	Photo by Mike Godwin
Photo by Mike Godwin	Photo by Mike Godwin	Photo by Mike Godwin
Photo by Mike Godwin	The unwrapping and uncrating ceremony had everyone choked up. It was the first time in 35 years that the mirror had seen the light of day. WHOO-HOO!	Photo by Mike Godwin

After a quick wipe-down with Windex to clean the sawdust away, Jim Gauldin (bottom right) attempts to use the 69-inch as a solar cooker. However, since it has about an f-7 focal length, Jimmy really needs a 40-foot long stick!

NOTE! Do NOT attempt this with your telescope mirror at home! Windex and hotdog grease have been known to degrade the performance of most astronomical optics! The mylar on the mirror is just for show, and will be stripped off at a future date anyway.

 

Photo by Jim Gauldin

Perkins Director Tom Burns is the center of attention as he is interviewed by two local television stations at once. The story went out on local channels 10 and 4, as well as the Ohio News Network. CAS members also film the cameramen filming Tom. Jim Gauldin took this picture of the CAS members taking pictures of the news people taking pictures of Tom. Sorry, but we did not get a picture of Jim taking this picture of the CAS members taking pictures of the news people taking pictures of Tom.

	Photo by Gary McCool	Photo by Gary McCool
Photo by Mike Godwin	Photo by Bob Martino	Photo by Bob Martino	Photo by Bob Martino

And so the 69-inch mirror creeps - slowly - up to the back door of Perkins...

It is sometimes said that with any job, 90% of the work takes 10% of the time, and the final 10% of the work takes 90% of the time. This seemed to be the case with the mirror move. We were not at all certain at the start of the project exactly HOW that mirror was going to get through the back door and into Perkins. Fortunately, the experts at Wanner Metal Worx knew what they were doing.

Photo by Jim Gauldin	Photo by Mike Godwin	Photo by Bob Martino	Photo by Bob Martino
Removing the doors. There was exactly 71 inches of clearance with the doors gone.	Since the forklift wouldn't fit through the door, the last couple of feet required creative thinking.	The 69-inch is lowered onto a padded dolly...	... And the first large telescope mirror ever made in the United States is brought home at last!

The 69-Inch Perkins Mirror is now on display at Perkins Observatory. If you would like to see it, why not come out for one of our public programs? And bring the kids!

Perkins Observatory would like to thank COSI. Not only did they return our mirror with very little fuss, but they also gave us several pieces of equipment and exhibit cases which they no longer had a use for. We wish them great success in their new location.

We would especially like to thank the generous, professional folks at Wanner Metal Worx of Delaware for providing the truck, forklift, warm bodies, and expertise necessary to get the mirror from the loading dock at COSI up the road and into Perkins Observatory once again. This would have all been impossible without their help. Take a bow, fellas!

Photo by Mike Godwin

Currently, Perkins is in a state of flux. We are expanding our public programs, building exhibits, and trying to make the observatory a great place for the public to learn all about Astronomy and Space Exploration. We have opened a playroom for our younger guests, an exhibit area where you can learn a lot about astronomy and the observatory's history, and a gift shop where you can find educational toys, books, telescopes, posters, and much more!

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If you wish to contact us, send e-mail or call us at (740) 363-1257