Many in the University of Virginia community have taken the short journey to the top of Observatory Hill to visit the Leander McCormick Observatory, which was dedicated in 1885 and is still in operation. But how many are aware that two smaller observatories were constructed at the University and demolished by the mid-19th century? A new exhibition in the First Floor Gallery of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library explores the history of these little-known buildings.
“Seeing Stars: The University’s Earliest Observatories” traces the evolution of astronomy at the University, beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s lifelong fascination with the science. He felt that astronomy should be taught to students at the University and desired an observatory on Grounds “which may command the whole horizons & heavens,” as he wrote in his unrealized plans for such a building. He devoted considerable effort towards establishing an observatory, surveying sites, drawing up blueprints, and purchasing equipment.
These efforts continued after Jefferson’s death. In 1828, natural philosophy and mathematics professor Charles Bonnycastle directed the construction of a small octagonal building (based on Jefferson’s design) for “astronomical purposes” on Observatory Hill. In 1830, natural philosophy professor Robert Patterson oversaw the construction of a small brick house equipped with a telescope just south of Monroe Hill. After Patterson’s departure from UVA in 1835, the two observatories were abandoned, fell into disrepair, and were demolished by the 1850s. “Seeing Stars” unearths the plans, drawings, purchase orders, and correspondence surrounding these buildings. It also investigates Jefferson’s design for a planetarium in the Rotunda as well as the story behind McCormick Observatory and its refractor telescope, which was used for astrometry into the 1990s.
Exhibition curators Ricky Patterson (director of Research Data Services & Social, Natural, and Engineering Sciences and liaison to the astronomy, mathematics, and physics departments) and UVA astronomy professor Ed Murphy combed through Jefferson’s correspondence, facsimiles of his early designs, photographs, prints, maps, and more. The exhibition even includes the University’s first telescope, a four-foot refractor manufactured by mathematical and optical instrument makers W. & T. Gilbert in 1828.
Patterson, an astronomer by training, said he was grateful to Curator of University Library Exhibitions Holly Robertson and Exhibitions Coordinator Jacquelyn Kim for guiding him and Murphy through the curation process. “They excelled in locating documents; researching people, events, and manuscripts; creating wonderful graphics; writing and editing descriptions; and gracefully handling last-minute discoveries,” he said. “It was a delight for me to work with them on this project, and to see an exhibit I had in mind for years actually come into existence looking far better than I could have imagined when we started.”
Patterson also mentioned his gratitude toward Special Collections staff past and present, including Director of Operations for the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library Heather Riser and Reference Librarians Anne Causey and Regina Rush for helping him with research dating back at least two decades on the history of astronomy at UVA, which he considers his hobby. “Finally, huge thanks to Curator of Material Culture Meg Kennedy for helping with the serendipitous rediscovery of the first-known telescope at UVA, which I had long assumed had been lost,” he said.
“Seeing Stars: The University’s Earliest Observatories” is on view in the First Floor Gallery of the Small Special Collections Library through August 22, 2025