[meteorite-list] The Middleburg Meteorite

[drtanuki]

This is a well-known historical hoax. Obviously the writer of this article did not take the time to do his research; all of the photos in the article are out of context. Dirk Ross...Tokyo

--- On Sat, 2/27/10, Greg Stanley <stanleygregr at hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Greg Stanley <stanleygregr at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [meteorite-list] The Middleburg Meteorite
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010, 7:07 AM
> 
> Just one more.
> 
> Greg S.
> 
> 
> http://www.jaxobserver.com/simplertime/2010/02/the-middleburg-meteorite/
> 
> 
> The Middleburg Meteorite
> 
> by Joseph E. Miller on February 26, 2010 
> 
> “You should have seen it!” shouted a young boy in the
> crowd. Pointing to a large black stallion drinking from a
> trough, he added, “It was as big as that ther horse over
> ther’.”
> 
> But, we don’t need to rely on the word of a child to know
> that this “rock from another planet” was gigantic. There
> were dozens who saw it fall and thousands more that touched
> it.
> 
> In January, 1888, several Florida residents witnessed a
> “large green streak” falling through the sky. Known as a
> shooting star, the meteorite was visible throughout the
> entire southeast. Trying to project its final location and
> landing zone, each witness pointed to a field nearby where
> they were standing. Whether they lived in Key West, Miami,
> Palatka or Jacksonville, they would motion in a particular
> direction and then say, “Its got to be right over
> there.”
> 
> It turns out that the monstrous meteorite (the envy of the
> world) fell to the earth in Middleburg, Florida. It was late
> in the evening when several passersby witnessed its arrival
> then heard a tremendous “thud.” Every house in the town
> shook.
> 
> w_meteoriteRunning to farmer J.W. Barber’s newly
> cultivated land, they approached a smoking hole and right
> there in front of them was this catch of a rock.
> 
> Farmer Barber rode up on his horse in his bedclothes and
> inquired, “What the hell is all the commotion on my land
> about?”
> 
> “Take a look for yerself, knucklehead,” one man
> shouted.
> 
> Farmer Barber approached the smoldering hole and said,
> “Just which one of yous dug this hole and burned some
> wood.”
> 
> Shaking his gun like an Indian spear, he said, “I’ll
> use this on ya. I’ve got rock salt loaded to the top. Doya
> think I’m crazy?”
> 
> Pointing at the large steaming rock, one man shouted,
> “J.W., have ya ever seen a rock on fire?”
> 
> Farmer Barber was now close enough to see the large rock.
> It had a whiteish appearance and looked similar to a lump of
> coal just after it was pulled from the fire.
> 
> “Now just where did that thing come from?” he inquired.
> He looked around at everyone, scanning their faces for some
> type of reaction.
> 
> An older boy, unwilling to be shot in the behind said,
> “Put down that gun and we’ll tell ya.’
> 
> The farmer obliged and sat the gun on the ground. Lifting
> his head back up he noticed that everyone was looking to the
> sky.
> 
> Pointing upward, the boy said, “This is going to sound
> stupid fer sure, but it fell from up der.”
> 
> The farmer, now with a look of disgust shouted, “Now
> I’ve just about had enough.” He reached down toward the
> gun when a big man with a badge stepped on its barrel. It
> was the local sheriff. He said, “They told you the truth
> J.W., that thing fell from the sky.”
> 
> Scratching his head in disbelief, farmer Barber said, “Oh
> my goodness gracious. Now I’ve seen dang near
> everything.”
> 
> The next morning, farmer Barber was the town’s celebrity.
> Pointing to the
> sky like some kind of expert, he could heard saying, “The
> thing just dropped from the sky and don’t let me hear ya
> say ya don’t believe it.” He had taken time to build a
> wooden fence around the hole in order to preserve his find.
> 
> Observing a young boy sticking his head through the fence,
> farmer Barber shouted, “Boy, don’t get too close now,”
> People were standing ten deep just to get a peek at his
> “stone from the heavens.”
> 
> A neighbor said, “J.W. you are so lucky. That’s damn
> near the largest stone from the sky that anyone has ever
> found.
> 
> Suddenly, a man they termed a “city boy” stepped up and
> said, “You could be right. There were a couple of
> meteorites that fell in Spain that might be larger but this
> one is truly a keeper and may be in the record books.”
> 
> sub tropical jaxThe timing could not have been better to
> have a natural amusement enter the earth’s atmosphere. It
> was just weeks before Florida’s Subtropical Exposition and
> this was a unique item. Exposition organizers approached the
> farmer for permission and after guarantees that his land
> would be returned to its original state; he accepted their
> offer to remove the iron stone and display it in
> Jacksonville.
> 
> It was not clear whether the farmer requested the
> meteorites return after its display.
> 
> Block and tackle assisted in its removal and placement on a
> washboard wagon pulled by several horses. The trip from
> Middleburg to Jacksonville,
> Florida, took nearly two full days.
> 
> kids in meteorite For nearly three years, the 200 pound
> magnificent piece was displayed in
> its special cradle. It was touched, sat on, kissed, prayed
> to and even
> painted. It was stroked by the President of the United
> States, the First
> Lady, the Governor, Mayors of several cities and many other
> dignitaries.
> There were those who brought tools to remove a piece for
> posterity but none were successful. They left empty-handed.
> 
> Sometime during its display, Dr. Hahn, meteorite expert
> from Germany, traveled to Jacksonville to photograph and
> examine the meteorite. He exclaimed that he had proof of
> fossils inside the giant ore and wrote a paper outlining his
> find. Years later, his claims were discredited.
> 
> Sadly, after Jacksonville’s Subtropical Exposition, the
> meteor was removed and never seen again. There are several
> newspaper articles published during this time period
> throughout the world which suggest a group of thieves would
> acquire meteors for its mineral deposits. They would melt
> the rock which would separate each individual metal and sell
> the results to the highest bidder.
> 
> Whether this theft occurred or not the Middleburg Meteor
> has never been seen again.
>     
>         
>           
>   
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