Amana Meteor of 1875

GEIGER, SHERLOCK

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 7/7/2011 at 15:08:33

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; July 2, 1940

JOHN GEIGER RECALLS AMANA METEOR OF '75
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Flight Was Visible As Far Away As Omaha and Chicago.

Mrs. John Geiger of 1817 Sixth avenue recently ran across an old newspaper clipping concerning the famous Amana meteor of 1875, whose appearance is well remembered by her husband.

At the time Mr. Geiger was eight years old and lived near Amana. The day following the meteor's fall young Mr. Geiger accompanied his uncle, Henry Geiger, to the neighborhood where the heavenly body had landed.

FOUND TWO FRAGMENTS.

They searched for fragments and discovered one sizable chunk. Another piece was later found by Mr. Geiger's sister. Both were sold to a representative of the State University of Iowa.

Mr. Geiger recalls that on the trip home with his uncle, the rim came off a wheel of their wagon, and the meteorite served the very earthly function of a wheel block while repairs were made.

Because of its considerable historical interest, the clipping from the Williamsburg Tribune is here reprinted:

THE AMANA METEOR.

One night in the winter of 1875 a marvelous spectacle appeared in the heavens over Iowa. Those who witnessed the phenomenon have never forgotten it. The winter, the coldest for many years, had been notable for its heavy snowfall, moonlight nights and bracing atmosphere. Temperatures ranging to 20 degrees below zero were not infrequent and frost had penetrated to a depth of nearly five feet in some places.

Between the hours of 10 and 11 on the night of Friday, Feb. 12, 1875, many people in southeastern Iowa were returning to their homes from social engagements and the highways were gay with sleighing parties. Suddenly without a moment's warning a bright light and a great ball of fire appeared in the southern sky.

LIT UP SKY.

Shooting across the heavens in a northern direction it lighted up the whole earth like a flash of lightning, except that a reddish and then a greenish tint was imparted to objects. To one observer, it appeared that "the face of the moon had fallen off and was approaching the earth" obliquely. To many the ball of fire appeared pear-shaped, the larger end foremost. A rumbling roar, like the passing of a train over a bridge, and several sharp detonations followed in the path of the ball of fire.

The passing of the meteor came about so suddenly that everyone seemed stunned by the spectacle. Those who were near to the line of flight were throughly frightened. Horses reared and plunged to escape while dogs went howling and barking to places of safety.

VISIBLE IN CHICAGO.

Five sudden explosions seemed to shake the earth to its foundation as the meteor burst into pieces a few miles northeast of Marengo. Buildings in the nighborhood rattled and the furniture they contained jarred about as if shaken by an earthquake. In fact, many believed that an earthquake was in progress.

The meteor was visible as far away as Omaha and Chicago, and from St. Paul to St. Louis. The light of the meteor, from first to last, was exceedingly brilliant. The moon and stars, according to some observers, were "blotted from the sky, and the surrounding landscape illuminated as if at noonday."

PIECE WEIGHED 74 LBS.

At once interest centered upon locating the spot where the meteor struck the earth and the discovery of fragments if possible. The first fragment was found by Sarah Sherlock, about two miles west of Homestead. This meteorite weighed seven pounds and six ounces. Other fragments were located in the timber by observing broken twigs and scars where the flying particles had struck the trees.

During the next spring the two largest fragments recovered were unearthed in a field just south of High Amana. One piece weighed seventy-four pounds and the other forty-eight. Both had penetrated the frozen ground to a depth of about two feet.

In the course of two years and a half over eight hundred pounds of meteoric stone had been recovered and distributed all over the world by collectors and men of science.

Some of the stones were sold to famous European museums, though two of the largest specimens and numerous smaller fragments are deposited by the Amana Society in the geological collection of the State Unversity of Iowa.