On Saturday February 21, 16 Skyscrapers members arrived at the Hartness House Inn for what we were hoping would be a night of observing with the Hartness Telescope. The telescope was constructed in 1910 and is a 10” Brashear refractor designed by Russell Porter. What’s unique with this telescope is that the observer sits in a fully enclosed and heated observation room. Access to the telescope is gained from a long underground passageway that leads from the house to the telescope.
The Hartness House is a historic Vermont Bed and Breakfast and country inn offering 43 rooms, all with private baths, modern amenities, and a fine dining restaurant in a beautifully restored 1904 country mansion and estate belonging to former governor of Vermont James Hartness. The accommodations were superb and the inn offered all of us a fantastic dining experience that evening in their restaurant. Skyscrapers members enjoyed everything from soup and salad, cheddar and walnut ravioli, venison, pomegranate-roasted duck, to Kenny’s favorite, pan seared salmon!
Unfortunately for us the weather was not cooperative so we didn’t get to use the telescope but owner Alex Leonenko gave us a private tour of the telescope and the museum where many of the original telescopes from the early telescope makers are on display. Springfield Vermont was the home of the amateur telescope making movement spawned on by Russell Porter and Albert Ingalls of Scientific American. Not only was Russell Porter interested in astronomy and telescope making, he was an artist, Arctic explorer, and a professional architect having designed many of the buildings in downtown Springfield. Porter is most known for having designed the 200” telescope at Mt. Palomar, which for years was the largest telescope in the world. Many of Porters works of art are on display at the museum.
The new inn owners Alex and his wife Alla were splendid hosts and could not have been more accommodating to everyone. They have extensive plans for expanded gardens on the grounds this summer, which would make a summertime trip well worth it. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway I would highly recommend the Hartness House Inn! Please visit their website at
www.hartnesshouseinn.com.
