Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
“McKim Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by DePauw University. Built in 1884, it is located in Greencastle, Indiana, United States.”
Wikipedia article McKim Observatory, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 33 National Register listings published here for Putnam County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Greencastle Township in Biographical and Historical Record of Putnam County, Indiana .., published 1887 names Greencastle. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The first child born in Greencastle was j and engaged for awhile in teaching school Columbus D. Seller, son of John F. Seller, I for the neighborhood settled along Little on the 11th of October, 1824. Mary Ann j Walnut. After tho death of his wile, which Glidewell, daughter of Robert Glidewell, ' occurred in a few years, he returned again to was the first ^irl born in the town. She be- | the river. Coming a second time to the came the wife of Isaac Mark, and is still j county in 1830, lie settled in Greencastle, and, in 1835, erected on the present site of the National Bank building the first brick store in town. About the same time he erected a brick house on the corner of Xndi- The next who died there was Benjamin i ana ami Poplar streets. Captain Thornbun? Akers. lie was buried in the old cemetery, j owning the first money-safe in the county, and his grave was the first in that place of I his store became, in effect, a place of deposit, rest. j where spectators, merchants and tanners
Passage source: Biographical and Historical Record of Putnam County, Indiana .., published 1887.
Never did the character of Greencastle's citizens show to better advantage than during the year succeeding the tire. Within that time there were made, or ;. early completed, brick and stone improvements to the value of 8252.500, and wooden buildings and repairs worth §98,305, making a total of §350,- 8(35. These works required the consumption of 4,805,000 brick, v\<\ stone valued as it came from the quarry at 830,000. Daring the same period there w«*re made by the city street improvements worth §0,000. Within the same time the s ity had provided two lire-engines, two engine-houses with alarm-bells, eleven cisterns and one pool, having a united capacity of nearly ten thousand barrels, and there was organized a lire department in two companies, already welldrilled and disciplined, to fight the fire-fiend wherever he might show his lurid front.
Passage source: Biographical and Historical Record of Putnam County, Indiana .., published 1887.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Greencastle Township - 9,283 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of McKim Observatory, DePauw University: 3 producers, 1 plant, 1 past producer. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star Greencastle Qy/Cement Plt | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay | Producer | ||
| Putnam Co. Hwy. Dept. | Stone | Producer | ||
| Greencastle Pulverizing Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant | ||
| Greencastle Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Lone Star Greencastle Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Greencastle, the town this property stands in, in 75 storm reports between 1993 and 2020: 40 thunderstorm wind, 29 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2002 | Tornado (F1) | Greencastle | $200,000 | A tornado briefly touched down at the Putnam County Fairground and destroyed 1 horse stable and damaged one other building. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $70,000 | The area along Washington Street and Bloomington Street saw a lot of tree and utility line damage from thunderstorm winds. Witnesses at the Putnam County Fairgrounds said several chickens were killed as a result of the storm. |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $70,000 | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $50,000 | Trees were downed 5 miles northwest of Greencastle, and there was some minor damage to homes in the area. South of Fincastle a roof was blown of a barn. |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $50,000 | no account filed |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $45,000 | A utility pole, a garage, a horse barn, and a camper were damaged in Greencastle due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $28,000 | Part of the roof on a pole barn and a modular home was blown off due to damaging thunderstorm winds. Windows were blown in at a business. A tree fell due to the thunderstorm winds and crushed a truck. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $20,000 | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $10,000 | Emergency manager reports multiple trees and tree limbs downed due to thunderstorm wind gusts with some on having fallen on cars. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $10,000 | A tree fell onto a house. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $5,000 | Numerous trees downed due to thunderstorm wind gusts between Greencastle and Fillmore. 0.5 inch hail also occurred at the same time. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Greencastle | $5,000 | Water, estimated at 8 to 10 inches deep, was covering the road at the intersection of Highfall and Shadowlawn Avenues. No barricades were in place but police were aware of the flooding. Multiple other locations inside and outside the city limits also have flooding. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Greencastle | $5,000 | Roadways were covered and previous flooding conditions were exacerbated due to heavy rainfall that caused flash flooding. |
| December 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $3,000 | Several trees were reported down in Madison Township due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $2,500 | Power lines were down in the vicinity of United States Highway 231 South. No further details of location were given. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $2,000 | Power lines and poles were downed due to thunderstorm wind gusts across town. A 50 mph wind gust was measured around the same time. |
| August 2014 | Flood | Greencastle | $1,000 | Several streets in Greencastle were water covered due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall. |
| June 2010 | Lightning | Greencastle | $1,000 | Lightning struck a barn northwest of Greencastle near the intersection of County Road 300 W and 25 N. Damage to the barn was reportedly minor. The owner fought the fire and put it out using a garden hose. The time this event occurred was estimated. |
| February 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $1,000 | Trees and power lines were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $1,000 | Power lines were downed. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $1,000 | Power lines and trees were downed. |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Greencastle | - | In addition to the hail wind gusts to 30 mph also occurred. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Four healthy trees broke off at ground level and fell across the road. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Trees and/or tree limbs were blown down by thunderstorm winds in town. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Gust was measured with wind equipment mounted on a truck. Numerous trees were also reported down around the city due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Trees were reported down along state road 231 just north of 200 N. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | No property damage reported. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | No property damage reported. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Trees were downed. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Several trees were downed in Greencastle. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | A few trees were downed. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Trees were blown down. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | A few trees were downed. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | A few trees were downed. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | Several trees and power outages |
| March 2012 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| February 2011 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| October 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| October 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Flash Flood | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Greencastle | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Northwood Historic District | 0.3 miles | 2011 |
 | William C. Van Arsdel House | 0.3 miles | 1984 |
 | Boulders, The | 0.3 miles | 1993 |
 | Eastern Enlargement Historic District | 0.3 miles | 2011 |
 | Delta Kappa Epilson Fraternity House | 0.4 miles | 1996 |
 | Richard M. Hazelett House | 0.5 miles | 2006 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 78000051 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Putnam County | All 33 listed properties in this county. |
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