Just got my metal detector (Delta 4000) and found a google earth overlay showing various falls around the world and lo and behold, one is really close to me! So I started doing some research and it looks like it fell back in 1917 and only one piece has been recovered and that was because it fell right next to a boy who was plowing the field at the time.
Here is the approximate strewn field of the fall as calculated by the local college:
Here's a blurb from the article I found:
Reported by the Troup Banner on May 3, 1917 – "Some who live near (Troup) said they heard the distinct pop of guns, and it was even reported that one airship was seen carrying 16 men. This report grew later to three airships. In connection with the wild rumors which flowed in from the country, it was said that the pipeline had been dynamited in a certain open field near Arp and the telegraph wires cut."
By that very afternoon, the real culprit was brought in by farmer Forest Lawson north of Troup. A jet black rock weighing 2 lb. 4.5 oz. that was white on the inside and far heavier than a normal rock. It had landed 3 miles north of Troup near a boy plowing a field and had kicked up dust on its impact. The boy fetched Mr. Lawson, who lifted it out of a shallow 6" hole.
Obviously, it was not the Germans. It was part of a visitor from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. I refer, of course, to a meteorite. This particular meteorite was later tested and confirmed to be a common stone meteorite, an ‘L6’ to be exact. It probably hit the earth’s upper atmosphere at 40,000 miles an hour. At an estimated 80 miles above the earth, it flared into a meteor. The thunderous sounds accompanied by the explosion and the state of the meteorite recovered all show the signs of a classic meteorite fall phenomenon.
Two generations have passed and the knowledge of a meteorite fall has almost been forgotten. It is time to start the hunt. Only one piece was ever recovered out of dozens to hundreds of pieces that fell. The one piece was found only because it fell within sight of a curious kid. That one piece was found three miles north of Troup, probably within a half mile from New Hope Church. That means that for five miles east and five miles west of New Hope Church there will be more pieces. The pieces are no longer black, but will now be recognized as unusually heavy, rusty brown rocks. Expect them to be the size from a pecan to a baseball. Larger is possible, but it’s best to look for small pieces and you won’t miss the larger ones. This author is putting out a reward to anyone who finds more fragments of this meteorite.
I plan on getting out there and getting permission to hunt in the next week or two and hopefully can get out there and find something to show you guys!
Here is the approximate strewn field of the fall as calculated by the local college:
Here's a blurb from the article I found:
Reported by the Troup Banner on May 3, 1917 – "Some who live near (Troup) said they heard the distinct pop of guns, and it was even reported that one airship was seen carrying 16 men. This report grew later to three airships. In connection with the wild rumors which flowed in from the country, it was said that the pipeline had been dynamited in a certain open field near Arp and the telegraph wires cut."
By that very afternoon, the real culprit was brought in by farmer Forest Lawson north of Troup. A jet black rock weighing 2 lb. 4.5 oz. that was white on the inside and far heavier than a normal rock. It had landed 3 miles north of Troup near a boy plowing a field and had kicked up dust on its impact. The boy fetched Mr. Lawson, who lifted it out of a shallow 6" hole.
Obviously, it was not the Germans. It was part of a visitor from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. I refer, of course, to a meteorite. This particular meteorite was later tested and confirmed to be a common stone meteorite, an ‘L6’ to be exact. It probably hit the earth’s upper atmosphere at 40,000 miles an hour. At an estimated 80 miles above the earth, it flared into a meteor. The thunderous sounds accompanied by the explosion and the state of the meteorite recovered all show the signs of a classic meteorite fall phenomenon.
Two generations have passed and the knowledge of a meteorite fall has almost been forgotten. It is time to start the hunt. Only one piece was ever recovered out of dozens to hundreds of pieces that fell. The one piece was found only because it fell within sight of a curious kid. That one piece was found three miles north of Troup, probably within a half mile from New Hope Church. That means that for five miles east and five miles west of New Hope Church there will be more pieces. The pieces are no longer black, but will now be recognized as unusually heavy, rusty brown rocks. Expect them to be the size from a pecan to a baseball. Larger is possible, but it’s best to look for small pieces and you won’t miss the larger ones. This author is putting out a reward to anyone who finds more fragments of this meteorite.
I plan on getting out there and getting permission to hunt in the next week or two and hopefully can get out there and find something to show you guys!
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