Three College Observatory, in the Cane Creek Mountains south of Graham, North Carolina, was built in 1979 as a shared facility for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Guilford College. Designed by W. Edward Jenkins and funded by a $250,000 grant, it was created to serve all three institutions. Its principal instrument, a 32-inch Ritchey-Chrétien reflecting telescope on an equatorial mount, was built by Sigma Research and installed in 1981. It remains the largest telescope in North Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeast, and it continues to support instruction and public outreach.