Stellafane Early History

The early history page covers all of the history from the beginning of our club through the purchase of Stellafane East in 1987. See the Modern History page for history from 1987 through the present day.

Early Club History

Stellafane Clubhouse ~1924

• An Early Brief History of Stellafane
  
This article gives a an account of early history of Stellafane through the 1930's.
• The Telescope Makers of Springfield, Vermont
  
Read this 1923 article by Porter, which includes many historic photos.
• About the Stellafane 'Little Man'
  
Learn about the origins of this ubiquitous Stellafane symbol.
(The Little Man appears on the upper left of each of our web pages, and hangs over the door of our clubhouse)
• Why Pink?
  
Why pink? Why not? Learn about how pink came to be associated with Stellafane.

Russell W. Porter

Russell W. Porter
1935

Russell Porter founded the Springfield Telescope Makers. Earlier, he was navigator on several arctic expeditions. Later, he was recruited by Hale and joined the 200-inch telescope project at Palomar.
• Porter Article in 1928 Vermonter Magazine [PDF]
  
This article by Oscar Marshall was written as Porter was leaving for CalTech to work on the 200-inch telescope.
• Russell Porter's Drawings of Palomar
  
Porter made these amazingly detailed 3-D drawings of the 200-inch telescope on Mt. Palomar from 2-D blueprints before the telescope was built!
• The Arctic Sketches of Russell W. Porter
  
This link takes you to the National Archives web site and a 1997 article about the sketches, many of which are in the National Archive collections.
• A Visit to Caroline Porter Kier
  
This article by club historian Bert Willard chronicles his visit with Russell Porter's daughter.

Conventions

The 1926 Convention (The First)
R. Porter & A. Ingalls at far right

• The 1926 Stellafane Convention
  
Excerpts from the report by Albert G. Ingalls in the September 1926 Scientific American of the first convention.
• Memoirs from the 1930 Stellafane Convention
  
by Leo Scanlon, edited by Bert Willard

Observatories & Major Buildings

Stellafane Observatory
National Historic Landmark
Plaque is on the rock base of
the Porter Turret Telescope

• Stellafane Observatory National Historic Landmark
  
On December 20, 1989, the approximately 3.5 acre site on the summit of Breezy Hill, including the Stellafane Clubhouse and Porter Turret Telescope, were listed as a National Historic Landmark.
• Stellafane: Our Clubhouse
  
The Stellafane Clubhouse built in 1924, is notable in that it includes a Polar Cassegrain Telescope, Transit Telescope, Solar Telescope and South Wall Sundial. All of the instruments except the Transit Telescope are still operational. It also attracts attention because of its unique pink color. There are three rooms on the first floor: The fireplaced meeting room, the kitchen, and a workshop (which is now used as a kitchen extension). Upstairs, reached by a retractable stairway, are two rooms, originally used as bunkrooms, and now used for storage. Club meetings are still held here, except when snow prevents access in the winter months.
• The Porter Sundial on the Stellafane Clubhouse
  This article describes the Porter Sundial on the south wall of the Stellafane Clubhouse, and includes some very nice photographs of the instrument on a bright, sunny day.
• Porter Turret Telescope
  

The Porter Turret Telescope and Stellafane Clubhouse, July 2003.
This unique 12-inch f/17 equatorial turret telescope is part of the Stellafane Observatory National Historic Landmark. Read about it's history, and see how we use it today:
• How it Works: The Porter Turret Telescope is just a modified Newtonian, with the diagonal before the primary. Learn how it works, and view a photo gallery of how the optics are installed before each use.
• Construction Photo Gallery: These images from the Stellafane archive show the Porter Turret Telescope being built.
• The Porter Turret Restoration, Present Status and Future Operation: An article by member Jim Daley describing the 1970's restoration of the instrument. It also includes an excellent photo of Mars taken in 2005 by Bert Willard with the Porter Turret Telescope.

Museum & Hartness House

James Hartness & Russell Porter
Springfield, VT, September 1920

• Virtual Museum Tour
  
In 1975 we opened the Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making in the underground rooms at the Hartness House Inn. Many items on display are shown in pictures in this virtual museum tour.
• Restoration of the Hartness Turret Telescope
  This article by Jim Daley describes the restoration efforts of the Springfield Telescope Makers to keep the Hartness Equatorial Turret Refractor in good operating condition.
• Hartness House History
  
This link will take to you the Hartness House web site, where they have a nice history of Governor James Hartness, his mansion, his underground workshop and offices (where our museum is now located) and the Hartness 10-inch equatorial turret refractor.
• Missing Porter Watercolor
  
A watercolor painting of the Porter Garden Telescope is missing from Stellafane. Please help us locate it.