High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Goodsell Observatory is a building on the campus of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. It was constructed in 1887 and was, at the time, the largest observatory in the state of Minnesota. It was named for Charles Goodsell, who donated much of the land on which Carleton was founded. Goodsell was built to replace Carleton`s original observatory (built in 1877), which was razed in 1905 to make room for Laird Hall. Goodsell Observatory is on the National Register of Historic Places.