In 1919, Mr. Harrold's daughter Martha graduated from Mount Union College. Soon after, Mr. Harrold donated the observatory to the college.

Ground was broken in 1923 for the Clarke Observatory building shown on the right.

The building was demolished in 1969 to make way for the new Timken gymnasium.

Under the direction of Professor James P. Rodman a new observatory building (shown below) was completed at the south end of East Hall.

In 1952 the telescope was rebuilt and modernized. The original clock drive, driven by a falling weight, was converted to an electrically powered system.

The original objective lens suffered from barrel distortion, and was replaced by a new 8.5-inch lens with a focal length of 135 inches made by the J. W. Fecker Company of Pittsburgh. To accommodate the longer focal length a section was added to the telescope tube.

You may also read about the early history of the telescope.

The citation from the original observatory is mounted on the side of the new tower.

After being disassembled and refinished at the Alliance Tool Company, the telescope was installed in the new Clarke Observatory at the end of February, 1969.