The Kropscott Farm Environmental Center
History - - -
An environmental center including an astronomical observatory is highly unique for a rural county and we are fortunate to have such facilities, right here in Newaygo County! The Kropscott Farm Environmental Center (KFEC) is located 6 miles north of the city of Fremont, Michigan, on the corner of Baseline and Stone Road. The centennial farm,
owned by the same family for over a hundred years, was donated to the Newaygo Conservation District (NCD) by Earle and Mildred Kropscott in 1998. Today, the property is widely known as the Kropscott Farm Environmental Center. All together the Kropscott Farm Environmental Center contains an operating farm, a 30+ acre woods (soon to include a primitive campsite) with nature trails, an observatory, and an environmental educational institute. All of the buildings and areas within the KFEC are handicapped accessible! One may wonder how this farm became an environmental center and observatory. Indeed, the history surrounding this event is as fascinating as the facilities themselves! In 1895 Levi Kropscott, graduated from North Indiana Business institute, Valparaiso, Indiana. While at the Institute a professor advised that there would soon be a major depression in business and the safest place for money would be in land. He learned from neighbors in Overisel, Michigan that there was inexpensive land in the Fremont, Michigan area. He decided to purchase 80 acres in Denver Township for $1,600. About 35 acres was cleared for farming and the balance was virgin hardwoods. In the spring of 1896, Levi decided to build a house on his farm. Levi cleared about 10 acres for extra farming and five (5) additional acres when Levi’s son Earle, born in 1913, was about 10 or 12 years old. He taught Earle to scale logs, fell trees, and plow a straight furrow with a horse-drawn plow. On June 14, 1938, Earle married Mildred Baron and joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1937 as a plastic specialist and manager. Earle worked for the company for 40 years, retiring in 1977. Wessling, a retired earth science teacher from the Fremont Public Schools, were good friends and both graduated from Hope College. Earle knew of Mr. Wessling’s passion for both education and astronomy, so in 1998 Earle and Mildred donated their 80-acre farm to the Newaygo Conservation District. The donation was made with the understanding that the property and house were to be used as an environmental, agricultural and education center and that Mr. Wessling would oversee the construction of an observatory and operate it upon completion. In 2005, the observatory opened its doors, and that is when the adventure really began! What’s Available:
In October, 2012 the Kropscott home was remodeled. One section of the facility contains two research labs for a wide variety of environmental and agricultural research and education. Environmental education programs are available to all surrounding school districts, private and parochial schools, home school groups, youth organizations, church groups and the general public. Program areas include Earth/Space Science, Woodland, Wetland and Nature Trails, Agricultural and Soil Conservation, Seasonal Nature Exploration, and River Ecosystems. All programs are available to student from K-12 grade and are priced on a per student basis. Professional education for area teachers is also available. As a part of the Kropscott Environmental Center, the SFW Observatory's goal is to provide the general public, area students, and local and regional amateur astronomers the opportunity to observe and study the amazing universe in which we live. Newaygo County is blessed with ‘dark skies’, therefore interested people from West Michigan, Northern Indiana and Eastern Illinois also visit the observatory to take advantage of the dark skies. The observatory contains numerous telescopes of various designs and sizes including an 18” Obsession reflector, the 12.5” Raymond B. Larson telescope donated to the NCD by the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association, and a variety of 6” to 10” computerized and non-computerized reflecting telescopes. All of these are available for the public to view and personally operate with the assistance of the Newaygo County Dark Sky Astronomers. The KFEC is provided with high speed internet by Newaygo County Advanced Technology Services (NCATS). Directed by Dr. Larry Ivens, this service allowed on-line radio astronomy research to begin in 2012, with the addition of an on-site antenna installation in April. Data from Jupiter and the sun was downloaded directly to the Grand Valley State University computer for analysis. Additional research is ongoing. In October of 2015, the Kropscott barn - built with timbers from the property in 1898 - was renovated and became the main demonstration area for the complex. The barn is WiFi connected with computers, LCD projector, 8’ screen, and a large amplifier and speakers. If you are cruising down Stone Road at night, notice solar lights shining from the side of the barn in the pattern of the Big Dipper! For a modest price, a 30 amp RV hookup is available outside the research labs for those astronomers and researchers who wish to stay in their recreational vehicle overnight. Is this unique for a rural county in Michigan? You bet it is, and it would be for any rural county in the U.S.! Education is the key to the future of our country, and Newaygo County is leading the way. Additional Information regarding the KFEC and the observatory can be found at -
http://www.newaygocd.org/kropscott-and-observatory.html.
