Old Observatory

By the mid-1850s, many Friends Boarding School graduates had joined the Young Friends Philosophical and Literary Institute, which was devoted to furthering the education of Friends. In 1856, along with the Institute, the first alumni campaign for Friends Boarding School raised the extraordinary sum of $630 to purchase a large achromatic telescope for the school. 

Over the next several years, money continued to be raised and in 1861, the observatory building was completed at a cost of $400. Until Lindley Hall was built in 1887, the observatory and old Earlham Hall were the only permanent structures on campus.

Old Observatory, page 2