We begin in 2018 when a small group of amateur astronomers from the Pacific Northwest formed an LLC and established Goldendale Sky Village (GSV), a 30-acre dark sky site in eastern Washington. Their purpose was to have a place of their own where they could visually observe and image the universe. The business plan was simple: raise capital by selling shares in the LLC and assign shareholders lots (5000-10000 sf. typically) in the village for astronomy activities. This innovative combination of private ownership and relatively small lots positioned close to each other has led to a unique observing environment that looks and feels like a permanent star party. Opportunities abound for socializing, exchanging ideas, and learning. GSV has been a great success and membership at the village is almost full. Our general manager, Christopher Smythies, has written an essay (“A Night in the Life of a Goldendale Photonhead”: Link, Download) that conveys the spirit and philosophy of GSV and these apply to CSV as well.
Eastern Washington is excellent for summer astronomy but is quite cloudy in the winter. In 2021 this led some members GSV along with others from around the country to establish a sister village in southeastern Arizona where the skies offer year-round observing. Chiricahua Sky Village, as we call it, is similarly organized as a legally independent LLC and has 92 acres of prime observing land under Bortle 1 skies. CSV now has 47 members from 6 states (AZ, CA, OK, OR, TX and WA).
