1869 Solar Eclipse

In 1869, Shelbyville was the place to be. Our town was considered the premier viewing area along the path from Alaska to North Carolina. Various railways offered special round trip tickets for around $3.00 each, labeling the route as an “Excursion to the Sun”. Vendors came from miles away to sell their wares, including glasses darkened with ash, which left the viewers’ faces blackened with soot.

Why Shelbyville? At that time, we had one of the most powerful telescopes in the country, housed at Shelby College on College Street, where Northside Early Childhood Development Center stands today. Lead by Harvard Astronomer and Shelbyville native, Joseph Winlock, a team of Scientists studied, measured, and photographed the eclipse from the front lawn of the college and from nearby rooftops. Winlock announced that he could also see a meteor shower between the moon and the sun through the Shelby College telescope.

For some, this was a terrifying experience. People reportedly sank to their knees in prayer or gasped aloud as the sky darkened to its eerie light, and the temperature dropped fourteen degrees. It is said that cheers rose up from the crowd as the sun and moon parted ways, and many breathed a sigh of relief.

Lithographs of the original photos were published in Harper’s Weekly a few weeks later. Harper’s Weekly was the most popular National publication in the 1860’s, and for the first time, all of America got their first glimpse at a solar eclipse, from right here in Shelbyville, Kentucky.